Amazon will stream Yankees games in first move as channel owner
Amazon.com Inc. will stream 21 New York Yankees games this season to Prime subscribers, making its first move as a part owner in the team's cable network.
The first Yankees game to stream on Amazon will be April 17. Future games will feature high-profile match-ups, including three against the Boston Red Sox and two against the Houston Astros.
But Amazon's broadcasts will be limited in reach and not exclusive. The games will only be available to Amazon subscribers in the area where many Yankees fans live: New York, Connecticut, northeast Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey. And they will be simulcast on local channel WPIX and other TV broadcasters.
In August, the Yankees joined forces with Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and Amazon to buy the team's cable network in a deal valued at $3.47 billion. The group, which included RedBird Capital Partners, Blackstone's Tactical Opportunities business and Mubadala Capital, bought the 80% stake from Walt Disney Co.
Seattle-based Amazon has been trying to supplement its video-streaming service with live sporting events for the past few years. The company had a deal with the NFL to stream Thursday-night football games, and in 2018 it made a similar agreement for Premier League soccer matches in the U.K.
