As Calvin Coolidge once said, the business of the Yankees is business:
News Corp is expected to announce this week that it has taken a minority stake in the YES Network, a New York-based sports channel that broadcasts Yankee baseball and Nets basketball games. The deal could be announced as early as Friday, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction.
It does not seem as though there will be any content sharing or anything like that. It’s a minority stake. The Reuters report speculates that a News Corp-YES alliance will give YES greater leverage in negotiating fees cable companies must pay it to carry the channel because Fox channels could be brought into the negotiation.
I think they should further leverage the Fox relationship by putting Karl Rove on postgame duty:
Michael Kay: And that’s it from here in Yankee Stadium. Final score: Oroles 5, Yankees 3.
Rove: WAIT! NO! THIS IS NOT FINAL!