YES Network and MSG Networks move streaming games to DAZN

YES Network and MSG Networks are moving their direct-to-consumer local game streams to DAZN, shifting some of New York’s highest-profile sports rights from the Gotham Sports app to the global sports streaming service, CNBC reported. The YES Network MSG DAZN move affects local broadcasts for Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, the NBA’s New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, and several NHL teams.

The change ends the networks’ joint streaming venture, Gotham Sports, roughly two years after it was formed. The move comes as regional sports networks seek ways to reach fans outside the traditional pay-TV bundle, where cord-cutting has reduced the subscriber base that long supported local sports channels.

What happens to Gotham Sports subscribers?

Yankees viewers will be able to complete the current season on Gotham Sports, according to CNBC. The broader migration to DAZN is set to take place during the 2026-27 NBA and NHL seasons.

Customers who already receive YES or MSG Networks through a cable provider will be able to stream the covered games on DAZN at no additional charge, CNBC reported. Pricing for standalone access to the New York-area teams on DAZN has not been disclosed. Gotham Sports subscription plans had started at about $209.99 a year.

YES carries Yankees games and also airs the Brooklyn Nets. MSG Networks holds rights for the Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, according to CNBC.

Why are regional sports networks changing strategy?

Regional sports networks, often called RSNs, are local channels that pay teams for rights to show games in a defined market and historically collect fees from cable and satellite distributors. As more households cancel pay-TV packages, those networks have had to add streaming products or find distribution partners that can reach fans directly.

The pressure has been visible across the sector. CNBC reported that Main Street Sports, formerly the owner of a portfolio of networks carrying MLB, NBA and NHL teams, wound down in the spring after a bankruptcy filing and other moves that left it often unable to make rights payments to teams.

YES and MSG were not directly part of that upheaval, CNBC reported. MSG Networks is independently owned by James Dolan, who also owns the Knicks and Rangers, while YES is owned by a group that includes the Yankees. Even so, both networks have faced the same broad decline in cable subscribers despite strong ratings.

The DAZN agreement gives the networks another distribution route after a series of app changes. YES and MSG each introduced separate streaming services in 2023 before combining them into Gotham Sports in 2024.

DAZN has been trying to expand its U.S. sports business. CNBC reported that the service streamed the FIFA Club World Cup in the U.S. last year, and that one DAZN executive has said publicly that the company pursued digital rights for NBA teams formerly tied to Main Street Sports.

The New York sports market has also seen distribution disputes around local channels. CNBC Sport previously reported that MSG’s linear networks had a temporary blackout in 2025 with Optimum, a cable provider in the region, while YES recently neared a similar dispute with Comcast.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.