Who said the New York Knicks and New York Nets can’t get along?
The two regional sports networks carrying those respective teams, MSG Networks for the Knicks, and YES Network for the Nets, are partnering up on a joint venture called Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment designed to build out streaming and content distribution technology for themselves and other networks.
GAME will be separate from their existing respective services, MSG+, which launched in June, and the YES App, which came out in 2021. The joint venture will be focused on developing a set of services and platform that would allow other networks to quickly offer their own streaming service. The companies said the JV would base its development on the work already done by the two companies.
The joint venture emerges at a time when regional sports networks are struggling to stay alive. Diamond Sports Group, the owner of Bally Sports, is struggling to get out of bankruptcy, and Warner Bros. Discovery is in the process of shutting down its legacy AT&T SportsNet networks it acquired from AT&T. In contrast, both MSG and YES Network benefit from the massive New York tristate market, and also boast a large and devoted fan base for the teams they carry.
The JV’s technologies could be used by professional sports teams and local broadcasters, which are increasingly teaming up as many of the regional sports networks implode. The last year saw the launch of several standalone streaming services from various teams, including the Las Vegas Knights.
“With the launch of GAME, we are excited to develop new product offerings, and premium features and functionality, to serve audiences like never before, while also providing a scalable tech solution for third-party content owners seeking to deliver state-of-the-art streaming experiences to their customers.,” said Jon Litner, CEO of the YES Network.
“With the formation of GAME, we seek to marry our collective insight, expertise and best-in-class technology not only to explore enhancements to our own products, but also to offer other networks, teams and sports properties an efficient way to launch a state-of-the-art streaming service,” said Andrea Greenberg, president and CEO of MSG Network.
In addition to the Brooklyn Nets, YES Network carries the New York Yankees and New York Liberty, among other college sports and Manchester City and AC Milan soccer matches. MSG Networks carries the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and Bufalo Sabres.