NEW YORK—YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, and CAMB.AI have struck a partnership they said will leverage artificial intelligence to remove the language barriers between sports and fans.

CAMB.AI is a provider of language localization technologies that has built proprietary, state-of-the-art voice and translation models—BOLI and MARS—that support more than 150 languages. It’s the first time the company has teamed with a U.S. sports TV network to explore business opportunities, following deals with Major League Soccer and NASCAR.

CAMB.AI’s technology breaks down language barriers to help broadcasters, teams and leagues expand their fan base via AI-powered multilingual translation that preserves the emotion, tone and inflection of athletes and announcers, the company said. This enables fans to enjoy their favorite sports authentically and in their native languages, it said.

“Whether it’s the emotion in the voice or the way certain things are said in any language, we are dedicated to preserving nuances, emotions and prosody to deliver what we call a ‘performance-to-performance’ impact—something that is essential in sports,” said Akshat Prakash, CAMB.AI chief technology officer and co-founder.

The deal with CAMB.AI will add to other popular features YES has deployed to enhance the viewer experience, the network said, including the Live Stats and Pick-N-Play features on the Gotham Sports App.

“Tapping into the expertise that CAMB.AI has built by working with leading sports and media companies to incorporate AI into their localization strategies underscores YES’ commitment to explore new opportunities to serve our fans and making sports content more accessible and relatable,” YES Network President and CEO Jon Litner said.

More information is available on the YES Network and CAMB.AI websites.

NEW YORK—The digital joint venture between MSG Networks and YES Network, Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment (GAME) has announced that it will launch The Gotham Sports App this fall prior to the NBA and NHL regular seasons.  

The new Gotham app will bring MSG+ and the YES App under one roof – becoming the exclusive regional TV Everywhere and direct-to-consumer streaming home of each programming service, with games and content from the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Brooklyn Nets and New York Yankees. 

Fans within MSG Networks' and YES' respective regional coverage territories (New York State, Connecticut, north and central New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania) who are authenticated MSG Networks and YES subscribers through their respective traditional pay TV providers will receive The Gotham Sports App at no additional cost. 

For those customers who do not subscribe to a traditional TV service, The Gotham Sports App will offer for purchase the existing MSG+ and YES App services, as well as a combination Gotham Sports package that includes both services. The combined direct-to-consumer version will cost $41.99 a month or $359.99 a year, which is less than the two MSG and YES apps. 

The app will be available on a variety of devices and platforms at launch, including Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku and the Web, with additional platforms expected to be added in the near future. 

Andrea Greenberg, president and CEO of Officer of MSG Networks, said: "We are excited through GAME to bring New York area fans their favorite teams in one state-of-the-art app.  With the increased fragmentation of outlets carrying fan favorite sports programming, The Gotham Sports App allows fans of our teams one easy access point for New York area sporting events from MSG Networks and the YES Network." 

"The new Gotham Sports App will deploy GAME's best-in-class technology to deliver a greatly enhanced fan experience, showcasing the best in New York sports all in one place," said Jon Litner, CEO, YES Network. "The app, which will be free to our distributors' authenticated customers, will provide one convenient digital destination for our programming services and for fans of some of the most iconic teams in all of sports."     

As previously reported, in January, MSG Networks and the YES Network announced GAME, a 50/50 joint venture to capitalize on technical and operational synergies associated with MSGN's and YES' streaming services.  GAME also offers turn-key digital content distribution services, including platform technology, operational support and comprehensive data analytics to third parties, utilizing the combined technical and operational expertise each company has garnered from the respective successful launch and operation of the MSG+ and the YES App.

More information The Gotham Sports App is available at www.Signup.GothamSports.com.  

NEW YORK—The YES Network and FuboTV have reached a multi-year carriage agreement that will allow Fubo to launch YES in its Pro base channel plan in time for YES’ coverage of the New York Yankees’ Season Opener against the Houston Astros on March 28.

YES’ pre-game show begins at 3:00 pm ET, followed by the game telecast at 4:00 pm ET. YES’ post-game show will air immediately following the conclusion of the game.

“Fubo is thrilled to bring New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets coverage to fans in the New York City area just in time for the 2024 season,” said Todd Mathers, senior vice president, content strategy and acquisition, Fubo. “The addition of the YES Network to Fubo’s robust baseball offering - which is broader than any other streaming platform’s - means Yankees fans won’t miss a single pitch on YES. And, as Fubo is the only streaming platform to offer YES in its base plan, everyone in the family can enjoy the sports, news and entertainment content they love at an attractive price point.”

“We are excited to reach an agreement with Fubo to bring YES and our best-in-class New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets coverage to Fubo subscribers,” added Jon Litner, CEO, the YES Network. “As interest in the Yankees continues to soar as we approach Opening Day and the team’s pursuit of its 28th World Series championship, Fubo streaming customers will now enjoy YES’ Emmy Award-winning Yankees coverage all season long.”

The addition of YES further solidifies Fubo’s sports offering that includes more than 55,000 live sporting events annually, with many streaming in 4K, and over 35 regional sports networks in its base package at the lowest cost compared to other streaming options. Fubo is also the streaming leader in Major League Baseball coverage carrying MLB.TV, MLB Network, MLB Strike Zone, regional sports networks (RSNs), local broadcast networks and national sports networks ESPN and FS1. In addition to its leading sports coverage, Fubo also streams popular live entertainment and news programming and features more than 40,000 TV shows and movies on-demand each month.

TORONTO—Quickplay has announced that it was involved in “another banner year” of OTT transformation at scale that saw the company involved in the launch of multiple new services for MSG+, YES Network, Pilipinas Live, Allen Media Group's Local Now and The Weather Channel and others.

"What we accomplished in the past year was hands-down an industry record," said André Christensen, CEO and Co-founder of Quickplay. "Our team and our superior architecture were exceptional in driving massive change that accelerated the streaming ambitions of some of the industry's biggest brands, as well as in roadmapping and executing on the next wave of streaming innovation. We have become the No. 1 trusted go-to-partner for Tier 1 sports and entertainment for future-proofing and solving their transformation needs."

The company reported that its cloud-native, open architecture platform supported the simultaneous migration and launch of multiple new Tier 1 services across the globe, while at the same time accommodating significant growth from existing customers. 

The Quickplay platform handled the most complex and diverse use cases in the industry and expedited the ability of customers to future-proof their businesses, reshaping sports and entertainment experiences for tens of millions of consumers around the world, while laying the groundwork for an AI-driven future.

"Architecture matters in OTT: ours is enabling customers to control their own roadmaps and monetization strategies, leading to better business outcomes and time-to-market advantages in delivering innovation to their consumers," Christensen continued. "These architectural advantages have also allowed our customers to set the pace in applying AI marketplace capabilities that enhance customer engagement and drive monetization."

Quickplay also reported that Tier 1 providers such as MSG Networks' MSG+, Rogers Sports & Media's Sportsnet SN NOW, PLDT Smart, Cignal TV, Pilipinas Live, aha, and others are leveraging the platform’s architecture to control their product roadmaps.

Quickplay's architecture helped power the company to multiple awards, most notably a second straight Google Cloud Industry Solution Technology Partner of the Year Award for Media & Entertainment and that Quickplay's latest collaboration with Google Cloud, which debuted at IBC 2023, also provides generative AI-powered consumer engagement, satisfaction, and monetization tools

"In the near future, AI and super aggregation both will be essential to OTT providers' success," said Paul Pastor, CBO and Co-Founder of Quickplay. "Our platform's seamless integration with cloud providers' AI marketplaces and the ability to aggregate video and digital services will enable service innovation and differentiation – defining market winners in the years to come."'

Quickplay will be hosting meetings in its suite at the Aria Resort and Casino at CES 2024 in Las Vegas Jan. 9-12. 

NEW YORK—The New York Yankees have found a streaming home on Amazon Prime Video, as YES Network has announced a deal that will put 21 Yankees games on the streaming platform for no additional cost to subscribers throughout the Yankees' home-team footprint. The first Yankees game available on Amazon Prime will be an April 18 game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The home-team footprint covers New York state, Connecticut, northeast Pennsylvania and north and central New Jersey. The games will be simulcasts of games produced by YES Network. The games will be available on any Amazon Prime Video compatible devices.

As part of the streams, Amazon will provide its X-Ray technology, which allows fans streaming on Android, iOS mobile and FireTV to access live in-game stats, teams and player details and real-time play-by-play information while they watch. Prime Video will also offer a 15-minute pre-game show ahead of every stream, featuring YES Network on-air talent.

Here is the full schedule of Yankees games that will be available on Prime Video for the 2021 MLB season:

• April 18 vs. Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. ET 
• April 23 at Cleveland, 7 p.m. ET 
• April 27 at Baltimore, 6:30 p.m. ET 
• May 14 at Baltimore, 7 p.m. ET 
• May 21 vs. Chicago White Sox, 7 p.m. ET 
• May 29 at Detroit, 4 p.m. ET 
• May 30 at Detroit, 1 p.m. ET 
• June 12 at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. ET 
• June 20 vs. Oakland, 1 p.m. ET 
• July 2 vs. New York Mets, 7 p.m. ET 
• July 11 at Houston, 2 p.m. ET 
• July 23 at Boston, 7 p.m. ET 
• July 27 at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m. ET 
• July 30 at Miami, 7 p.m. ET 
• Aug. 15 at Chicago White Sox, 2 p.m. ET 
• Aug. 17 vs. Boston, 7 p.m. ET 
• Aug. 22 vs. Minnesota, TBD 
• Aug. 28 at Oakland, 4 p.m. ET 
• Sept. 17 vs. Cleveland, 7 p.m. ET 
• Sept. 24 at Boston, 7 p.m. ET 
• Sept. 29 at Toronto, 7 p.m ET 

This is Amazon Prime Video’s latest entry into sports. The streaming platform recently secured exclusive rights to the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” games. 

NEW YORK—YES Network is out with YouTube TV, according to a statement released by the network. The sports network that carries New York Yankees games, as well as other New York-based teams, has been dropped by the vMVPD, effective immediately.

The news comes as YouTube TV and Sinclair Broadcast Group, which purchased YES Network in 2019, have been in negotiations over carriage agreements for 21 regional sport networks.

“YouTube TV, for its own selfish reasons and with total disregard for its YES customers, has refused to pay the market rate and accept market terms and conditions that other YES distributors have agreed to,” said Eric Handler of YES Network in a statement. “In fact, YouTube sought a rate that was well below what other YES distributors are paying, and because YES keeps its word to all of its distributors, it could not make the deal. When YouTube TV realized it could not get a sweetheart, below-market deal, it dropped YES Network.”

Sinclair separately announced that it has reached a deal with YouTube TV to carry 19 of its 21 Fox RSNs.

“Sinclair, for its own reasons, elected to make a deal for some but not all of its programming services, which excluded large-market RSNs featuring iconic franchises and star players.”

The New York Yankees, according to YES Network, have informed Major League Baseball and YouTube TV that it will not appear on any national games televised by YouTube TV through its telecast agreement with MLB.

Yankees fans will have other options to watch games, however. It was recently announced that Amazon Prime Video will live stream 21 Yankees games during the 2020 season—though those streams will only be available in select regions. YESNetwork.com, meanwhile, is providing the other streaming services and distributors that carry YES Network.

YouTube TV has not yet made an official comment.

This story has been updated to include information on Sinclair's deal with YouTube TV to carry other RSNs.

NEW YORK—New York Yankees fans will have the chance to live stream 21 games of the 2020 MLB season via Amazon Prime Video thanks to a new partnership the streaming service has established with the team and YES Network.

The live streams will be simulcasts of games produced by YES Network. However, Prime Video will provide Amazon exclusive technology for the live streams, including X-Ray technology that enables fans streaming on Android, iOS mobile and Fire TV to access live in-game stats, team and player details and real-time play-by-play information.

“We understand that fans are consuming content in a variety of different ways, and we believe our unique partnership with Amazon represents an exciting development in the realm of live sports,” said Hal Steinbrenner, CEO, Yankee Global Enterprises.

Prime members in New York state, Connecticut, northeast Pennsylvania and north and central New Jersey will have access to the games through Prime Video, at no additional cost. 

The first Yankee that will be livestreamed on Amazon Prime Video will be on April 17 against the Cincinnati Reds.

Here is the full schedule of games for 2020:

•  April 17 - Cincinnati, 7:05 p.m. 
•  April 21 - at Detroit, 6:40 p.m. 
•  April 25 - Cleveland, 1:05 p.m. 
•  May 8 - Boston, 7:05 p.m. 
•  May 15 - at Houston, 8:10 p.m. 
•  May 22 - Seattle, 7:05 p.m. 
•  May 23 - Seattle, 1:05 p.m. 
•  May 27 - Minnesota, 7:05 p.m. 
•  June 21 - at Minnesota, 2:10 p.m. 
•  June 24 - Baltimore, 7:05 p.m. 
•  June 30 - at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m. 
•  July 22 - Los Angeles (AL), 7:05 p.m. 
•  July 24 - Boston, 7:05 p.m. 
•  July 29 - at New York (NL), 7:10 p.m. 
•  Aug. 10 - at Kansas City, 8:05 p.m. 
•  Aug. 21 - Toronto, 7:05 p.m. 
•  Aug. 28 - at Cleveland, 7:10 p.m. 
•  Sept. 10 - Boston, 7:05 p.m. 
•  Sept. 20 - Toronto, 1:07 p.m. 
•  Sept. 23 - Houston, 7:05 p.m. 
•  Sept. 25 - Tampa Bay, 7:05 p.m. 

SAN BRUNO, Calif.—YouTube TV is still carrying Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned Fox regional sports networks as the two sides have reached a temporary extension for the channels as they continue with negotiations.

On Feb. 27, YouTube TV tweeted that it would be dropping Sinclair’s Fox RSNs, including the YES Network, on Feb. 29 as the two sides could not come to terms on a new carriage agreement. However, in another tweet on Feb. 28, YouTube TV announced that negotiations were ongoing and that customers would not lose access to these channels after all. 

 Sinclair had no comment regarding negotiations. 

NEW YORK—YES Network is trading in mouse ears for pinstripes, as the regional sports network has been purchased by Yankee Global Enterprises—the owners of the New York Yankees—from the Walt Disney Company. With the help of strategic partners Sinclair Broadcast Group and Amazon, Yankee Global Enterprises is acquiring the 80% of YES Network it did not previously own for a value of $3.47 billion.

Disney was required to divest a number of its regional sport networks as a condition of its acquisition of Fox earlier this year.

YES Network is an RSN that broadcasts games, programs and specialty content for the Yankees, Brooklyn Nets, Major League Soccer’s New York City FC and the WNBA’s New York Liberty.

The trio of Yankee Global Enterprises, Sinclair and Amazon will work together to enhance the network and position it as a leader in sports broadcasting across all forms of distribution, per the official announcement. Jon Litner will remain in his existing role of the YES Network.

“This transaction brings the YES Network and all of its popular programming even closer to the organization that inspired its very development,” said Hal Steinbrenner, CEO of Yankee Global Enterprises. “Along with our partners, we look forward to greatly expanding the way that sports content is delivered and consumed by fans everywhere.”

In addition to Sinclair and Amazon, additional equity investments for the deal were provided by RedBird Capital, and funds were managed by Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities business and Mubadala Capital.