Newsday Sports has reported that the New York Yankees have made their 2020 TV schedule public. This season features 54 of 60 games on the YES Network, with the other six being exclusive to national television. No games are expected to be on PIX 11.
The six nationally televised games will be on ESPN and FOX, with three on each. Opening Day against the Nationals will be on ESPN on July 23rd, as well as Sunday Night Baseball games against the Red Sox on August 2nd and 16th.
The three games on FOX will be on the same weekends as the ESPN games. They will televise a game against the Nationals on July 25th, as well as games with the Red Sox on August 1st and 15th.
So, with this years TV format, fans will only be able to see six games with a basic cable package. Those six are the nationally televised games, bringing in the most revenue for less cost to the viewer. YES is not included with basic cable, meaning you have to pay extra to see those games. No games are on local television (PIX 11), and that likely has to do with making the network making the least amount of money.
The way the TV schedule is made is so that teams can make the most revenue possible. In negotiations about the season, owners were hesitant to have a season due to potential revenue losses. Formatting the TV schedule like this could help minimize their loss, even though it’s at the dispense of the fans.
And unfortunately due to blackout rules, local fans can’t watch games on MLB.com. They would either have to buy YES or a service such as HULU or Apple TV to see all games.
