Sandomir: Yankees to Be First to Stream Games on Broadband (RR)

Yankees fans will soon be the first in baseball to buy games streamed on broadband to computers and wireless devices within the team’s local market, according to executives briefed on the pending deal but not authorized to speak publicly about it.

The agreement between the Yankees and Major League Baseball ends a logjam that has prevented teams from making their games available on the Internet within their designated markets. Some teams have wanted to do it, but financial arrangements between them and baseball could not be reached.

Teams stand to gain a new source of revenue, from the millions of broadband users around the country who are not sitting in front of their televisions but are in offices and other locations with a laptop or a wireless device.

The New York market is obviously tantalizing financially for the already hugely successful YES network, but could bring added revenue to other teams. YES’s territory includes 7.5 million households throughout New York City, Long Island, large swaths of New Jersey, the Hudson Valley, Connecticut and parts of Pennsylvania.

Thanks to Planet Lollar.