DAZN, the international OTT sports streaming heavyweight, has made its long-awaited entry into the US local-broadcast market, sweeping up the local rights to New York’s elite basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB), and ice hockey (NHL) teams through a pair of new carriage agreements with MSG Networks (MSGN) and YES Network.
Through this new carriage agreement, DAZN becomes the exclusive direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming home of seven elite New York-area (city and state) sports teams.
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In all, this agreement encompasses Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, the National Basketball Association’s New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, and the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and New Jersey Devils franchises.
DAZN customers in regional market areas for these seven teams (New York state and New Jersey, primarily), will gain access to local game broadcasts from all of these franchises, as well as 24/7 live feeds of the MSG, MSG Sportsnet, and YES Network channels.
This will be supported by a wide array of ancillary programming and shoulder programming, including highlights, documentary shows, and more.
Local viewers who currently receive MSG Networks and YES Network as part of their pay-TV subscriptions will continue to do so via the DAZN platform, at no additional cost.
The same goes for the Gotham Sports App, the joint venture streaming app created by YES and MSGN in 2024, with users to be migrated to DAZN midway through the 2026-27 NBA and NHL campaigns.
Speaking on the announcement, DAZN Group chief executive Shay Segev said that the deal is a “defining moment” for the streamer, and that it “underscores our commitment to expanding our footprint in the United States.”
MSG Networks, the regional TV broadcaster owned by entertainment and sports venue Madison Square Garden, holds the rights to the NBA Champions New York Knicks, and the NHL’s New York Rangers, both of which compete at the iconic venue, as well as the NHL’s New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and New Jersey Devils, all of which play across New York state or the neighboring areas.
The YES (Yankees Entertainment and Sports) Network, meanwhile, broadcasts games for the MLB’s New York Yankees and the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, to fans who live in the greater New York area.
YES Network chief executive and president Jon Litner commented on the deal, saying: “Our new strategic partnership with DAZN reflects the YES Network’s continued commitment to elevate the streaming experience for our direct-to-consumer subscribers and TV Everywhere users.
“DAZN offers a world-class technology platform and elite, live sports streaming expertise, and we look forward to working with them and MSG Networks to continue to serve Yankees and Nets fans, as well as fans of the teams carried by MSG, with the most compelling sports content in the country.”
This agreement realizes a long-held ambition for DAZN, which has long sought to enter the US local sports broadcast market as a means of heightening its brand cache in the lucrative market.
At the beginning of 2026, DAZN was in talks to acquire the now-defunct regional sports network operator Main Street Sports Group (MSSG), and with it a wide swathe of local MLB, NBA, and NHL rights, but that deal never came to fruition, with MSSG then falling into insolvency following the 2025-26 NHL campaign.
