The sale of the YES Network is reportedly about to happen, and the buyer is a group led by Amazon. The New York Post reports that the investors also include the New York Yankees, and the deal is backed by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
The report cites two sources who are close to the plans, who say the deal is for about $3.5 billion.
“The offer, which one person described as “imminent,” puts the online retailer in a position to control video streaming of Yankees games and Brooklyn Nets basketball games,” The Post reports. “The bid will be for the 80 percent of YES that the Yankees don’t already own.”
The report adds: “Entertainment giant Disney is selling YES along with 21 other regional sports channels throughout the country as part of its $71 billion deal to buy Twenty-First Century Fox. Disney, which owns ESPN, needs to sell the Fox-owned RSNs to gain regulatory approval for the merger.”
The report notes that the YES network was valued at $3.9 billion back in 2014 when Fox acquired its 80% stake.
Great, with Sinclair involved, does that mean we will have to endure Sinclair must runs with Boris Epshteyn and Sebastian Gorka, among others during the 7th inning stretch? Of all the possible partners, the Yankees had to choose Sinclair? They don’t even own a broadcast station in the Yankee’s home market (thank goodness).