The Brooklyn Nets said they have reached a new media rights deal with the YES Network. Terms were not disclosed.
“We are happy that our agreement with the YES Network extends our relationship with the nation's number one regional sports network," said Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark in a statement. “The increased commitment from YES positions us as a premium NBA team.”
While neither side said how much the deal was worth, the Nets were expected to receive a big increase in rights fees from their previous deals. According to Sports Business Journal, the Nets invoked a contractual reset that happens every five years to get the the networks’ majority owner Fox Sports to raise its rights fees to the industry average of $40 million annually, starting with the 2017-18 season. That’s twice the $20 million the team received annually under the old deal, SBJ said.
According to SBJ, the old deal was set to expire in 2031-32 season. The new deal is substantially shorter but moves well into the next decade.
YES has televised Net’s games since the regional sports network’s inception in 2002. YES has won 17 New York Emmy Awards in the past eight years for its Nets coverage and on-air talent this season includes Ian Eagle and Ryan Ruocco handling play-by-play duties, Jim Spanarkel, Mike Fratello and Donny Marshall providing analysis, and Sarah Kustok reporting from the sidelines.
“YES’ extensive, Emmy Award-winning multi-media coverage of the Nets has played a key role as the franchise has built its Brooklyn brand, and we are pleased to extend our relationship with this long-term deal,” said YES CEO Tracy Dolgin in a statement.
