The Bronx Bombers and the world’s largest e-commerce company teamed up to purchase the YES Network, a New York metro area-based sports broadcasting company, for an undisclosed sum.
Amazon and the Yankees may seem like an odd couple, but both businesses are eager to tap into the rabid fan base of New Yorkers who tune into the YES network to watch the Yankees, Nets, and NYC FC.
So is Amazon coming to New York after all?
The answer is: YES. But the e-commerce giant isn’t coming to the Big Apple to build a 2nd headquarters — it’s coming to buy a regional sports broadcasting network.
21st Century Fox became the majority owner of the YES Network 5 years ago when it increased its stake to 80% of the company, which was valued at about $4B.
But more recently, the value of the company slipped to approximately $3.5B, making the network a desirable acquisition target.
Several reasons to say YES
For both buyers, saying YES could be a great deal (the transaction will take several months to close, meaning its terms are not yet final).
For the Yankees, whose games are broadcast by the network, owning the distribution rights to their baseball games will cut out a costly middle man and provide a valuable new revenue stream.
For Amazon, the YES Network could give millions of Yankee fans a reason to pay $199/year for Prime.