The pay TV ecosystem has dodged, at least for the moment, the launch of Venu Sports. But let's see it stop this very formidable-seeming competitive threat.
Almost every major New York-area professional sports team's local telecast will be available via a new direct-to-consumer streaming app launching this fall from Yes Network and MSG Networks, under the joint venture the pair formed earlier this year, “Gotham Advanced Media & Entertainment” (GAME).
Games not nationally televised for the New York Yankees, New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and Brooklyn Nets will be available in a service that's being billed as “the exclusive TV Everywhere and DTC streaming home of MSG+ and the YES App.”
The combined offering delivers some decent savings vs. subscribing to just the individual apps, as the graphic below reveals. It will also be free to subscribers to the linear YES and MSG Networks.
The Gotham Sports App can be downloaded by visiting www.Signup.GothamSports.com. It's supported by Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS and Android TV and most web browsers.
“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,” Andrea Greenberg, president and CEO of MSG Networks, said in a statement.