Knicks Streaming Merger Set for Fall Tip-Off

Switching between New York Knicks, Rangers, and Yankees games is about to get a whole lot easier.

The joint streaming effort between MSG and YES Networks made some major announcements on Wednesday, revealing that its app, known as The Gotham Sports App and set to place most of New York’s sports teams on a single destination, is set to be launched this fall in time for the upcoming NBA and NHL seasons.

The venture, known as Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment (GAME), was previously announced in January with the intention of “capitaliz(ing) on technical and operational synergies associated with YES’ and MSGN’s streaming services.” It will be a 50-50 share between MSG and YES.

MSG, of course, carries Knicks and Rangers games while its sister channel MSG Sportsnet (MSGSN) carries the area’s other hockey teams, the New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders. Meanwhile, YES, partly owned by the Bronx Bombers’ holding company Yankee Global Enterprises, broadcasts the Yankees and Brooklyn Nets.

“We are excited through GAME to bring New York area fans their favorite teams in one state-of-the-art app,” MSG Networks president and CEO Andrea Greenberg said in a statement obtained by Reice Shipley of Awful Announcing. “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.”

Both MSG and YES have adapted to the streaming/cord-cutting era by offering their respective apps (MSG+ and The YES App) in a direct-to-consumer fashion. A one-stop app for most of New York’s major teams (the Mets remain on their own network, SportsNet New York, whose app does not have a direct-to-consumer component) would cut down on costs to cord-cutting New York sports fans. It would also keep fans watching year-round as opposed to leaving after one season.

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