Q. I read that Amazon will stream New York Yankee games this year on its Prime membership service. Can anyone with Prime watch them? — Jerry, Detroit.
Jerry, Amazon, a part-owner of the Yes Network, announced yesterday that it will stream 21 New York Yankee games this season on Amazon Prime. (The etailer planned to offer Yankee games last season for the first time, but the effort was derailed when the season was suspended in March due to the Coronavirus pandemic.)
The games, which will be free to Prime members, will be simulcasts of the broadcasts airing on the Yes Network, PIX11 and other channels that have Yankee TV rights. That means that Yes Network subscribers won’t lose any games in their lineup.
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But will Amazon Prime members outside of the Yankees’ market be able to watch the games?
Answer: No.
The 21 games will only be available to Prime members in the Yes Network’s broadcast territory, which includes New York state, Connecticut, northeast Pennsylvania and north and central New Jersey.
The advantage here for Amazon Prime members in the Yankee viewing territory is that they can watch some Yankee games without subscribing to Yes on a cable or satellite service. This gives cord-cutters in those four states an opportunity to watch their favorite baseball team without paying hefty monthly fees to the pay TV operators.
For Amazon, the Yankee broadcast deal is another example of the company’s seriousness to be a player in the live sports industry. Amazon last week won the exclusive out-of-market rights to Thursday Night Football broadcasts starting with the 2023 season.
The first Yankee game on Amazon Prime will be the Yankees-Rays game on April 18 at 1 p.m. ET, live from Yankee Stadium. Here’s the complete schedule of games that will be on Amazon Prime:
Sunday, April 18 vs. Tampa Bay – 1 p.m.
Friday, April 23 @ Cleveland – 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 27 @ Baltimore – 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 14 @ Baltimore – 7 p.m.
Friday, May 21 vs. Chicago White Sox – 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 29 @ Detroit – 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 30 @ Detroit – 1 p.m.
Saturday, June 12 @ Philadelphia – 4 p.m.
Sunday, June 20 vs. Oakland – 1 p.m.
Friday, July 2 vs. New York Mets – 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 11 @ Houston – 2 p.m.
Friday, July 23 @ Boston – 7 p.m.
Tuesday, July 27 @ Tampa Bay – 7 p.m.
Friday, July 30 @ Miami – 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 15 @ Chicago White Sox – 2 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 17 vs. Boston – 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 22 vs. Minnesota – TBD
Saturday, Aug. 28 @ Oakland – 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 17 vs. Cleveland – 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 24 @ Boston – 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 29 @ Toronto – 7 p.m.
Amazon’s Yankee broadcasts will include the company’s exclusive X-Ray technology, which allows fans streaming on Android, iOS mobile and Fire TV to access live in-game stats, team and player details and real-time play-by-play information during the game. Prime will also stream a 15-minute pre-game show before the first pitch of each game.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
What about Yankee fans outside the tri-state area?
I pay for MLB Extra Innings AND Amazon Prime and will not be able to watch the 21 games.Between that and blackouts of ALL Yankees-Orioles games,I am missing games that I have paid for..ridiculous ripoff and this is the last time I will subscribe..pure GREED.