New York Yankees and YES Network chief Randy Levine is thanking President Donald Trump, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and other politicians for helping to resolve a carriage fight with Comcast.
Late Monday night, the two sides agreed to terms and averted a blackout of YES on Comcast’s Xfinity systems. The agreement came after Carr threw his support behind a complaint filed by YES with the commission. The YES complaint charged Comcast with trying to shift YES “to the Siberia of a tier and overcharge fans for it,” alluding to a proposed move of YES to a Comcast package priced about $20 more per month than the current one.
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“I want to express our deep appreciation to everyone who supported our efforts to keep the YES Network from going dark,” Levine said in the statement (read it in full below), which was provided to Deadline by YES. “All of you worked tirelessly to urge us to stay at the table and reach a deal. I would like to thank President Donald J. Trump and his administration, especially Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr.”
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The gratitude isn’t surprising given Levine’s longstanding ties with Trump. Levine was among those who accompanied Trump when he attended a UFC event last November at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It’s also been par for the course for corporate executives, especially in the media business, to toss bouquets at the Trump White House. Even so, the whole sequence of events is unusual given the fact that the FCC’s jurisdiction typically doesn’t include cable TV programmers or operators. It focuses instead on broadcast networks and stations, along with other communications issues.
Soon after YES filed its complaint with the FCC, though, Carr posted on X about the carriage dispute and asserted the potential rationale for the agency to get involved. “I would encourage a quick and favorable resolution for the benefit of everyone,” he wrote. “The FCC does have authority to step in and address claims of discriminatory conduct.” Once the deal was done, Carr followed up by observing, “Going dark wouldn’t have been in anyone’s interest. Thank you to all involved for your good-faith efforts!”
While Comcast is the No. 2 U.S. pay-TV operator, its footprint is modest in the New York area, compared with those of Charter Spectrum, Verizon FiOS and Altice USA’s Optimum. Even so, hundreds of thousands of viewers, especially in New Jersey, would have lost access to the Yankees, which made the World Series in 2024 and are off to a hot start this season. The settlement came shortly before the current agreement was set to expire, at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday.
Regional sports networks in general have come under intense pressure as cord-cutting keeps eroding pay-TV subscriptions. YES is better-positioned than most RSNs as an early mover based in the No. 1 media market, and its ratings have remained healthy with the Yankees a top contender in baseball of late. Yet carriage renewals with all RSNs have become grueling battles, with many networks losing carriage on a lot of major platforms as the traditional business model goes through a dramatic evolution.
Here is Levine’s full statement:
On behalf of the YES Network and the New York Yankees, I want to express our deep appreciation to everyone who supported our efforts to keep the YES Network from going dark. All of you worked tirelessly to urge us to stay at the table and reach a deal.
I would like to thank President Donald J. Trump and his administration, especially Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr.
I also want to thank New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. Special thanks to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, as well as legislative leaders from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, including New York State Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin and the members of the New Jersey State Assembly who voted for the resolution, New Jersey State Senate President Nicholas P. Scutari, New Jersey State Senate Budget Chair Paul A. Sarlo, New Jersey State Senators Joseph A. Lagana, Joseph P. Cryan and Joseph F. Vitale, and the numerous additional elected officials who supported the rights of New York Yankees fans in various ways.
We also extend our appreciation to New Jersey State Assembly Members Al Barlas, Gabriel Rodriguez, Alixon Collazos-Gill, Jessica Ramirez, Julio Marenco, and Yvonne Lopez for their advocacy and support.
We also appreciate the support of the Deputy Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives Christopher Rosario, Connecticut State Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan, Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino and Putnam County Executive Kevin M. Byrne.
Most importantly, we want to thank Yankees fans everywhere who showed their unwavering support and passion for keeping YES on the air. Your voices truly made a difference.