In Major NY Streaming Shift, DAZN Becoming Exclusive Home For YES And MSG Networks; Gotham Sports App To Sunset

In a significant shift for the New York sports marketplace, global outlet DAZN is becoming the exclusive streaming home for MSG Networks and the YES network.

In the coming months, as the 2026-27 NHL and NBA seasons get under way, DAZN will start to incorporate the networks’ linear feeds and on-demand programming. Both YES and MSG will migrate from the Gotham Sports App, a joint streaming venture launched in 2024, though Wednesday’s announcement of the move said its exact timing is still being determined. The Gotham app will wind down after the migration.

The two sports programmers control most of New York’s marquee regular-season rights, with YES carrying New York Yankees games and MSG the Knicks and Rangers. They also have the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres. Rival SNY, whose anchor tenant is baseball’s New York Mets, streams via the MLB app and was not part of the Gotham JV.

Pay-TV subscribers to YES and MSG will be able to access programming streamed by DAZN at no extra charge.

The move is the latest in the U.S. by DAZN, which is backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik. The streamer has significant international rights, especially in Europe, but to date it has been a niche offering in the U.S. primarily focused on boxing and soccer. It recently reported hitting 20 million paying subscribers worldwide.

Regional sports networks like YES and MSG have faced a difficult strategic path due to cord-cutting, though the two of them are among the most privileged in the U.S. because of their New York base. The RSN business model continues to be challenged given the different economics of streaming compared with linear TV. Main Street Sports Group, the parent of more than two dozen RSNs branded at various points by FanDuel and Ballys, wound down operations earlier this year after a stormy seven years of existence as underlying trends were worsened by Covid.

Executives at ESPN, since the Disney sports power launched its flagship streaming service last summer, have talked about being open to onboarding RSN programming but the DAZN move is the biggest stake in the ground to this point.

Social media has been filled with gripes about tech issues with the Gotham app, and its partners would not be the first content companies to recognize that it is difficult and expensive to maintain a streaming operation.

In a statement, DAZN Group CEO Shay Segev called the agreement “a defining moment for us and underscores our commitment to expanding our footprint in the United States.”

YES Network CEO Jon Litner said the partnership “reflects the YES Network’s continued commitment to elevate the streaming experience for our direct-to-consumer subscribers and TV Everywhere users.”

“We couldn’t be happier to offer our fans this opportunity to watch MSG Networks content on their state-of-the-art platform,” Kevin Marotta, SVP, Content and Marketing, MSG Networks, said of DAZN.