New York Yankees fans will once again need their own personal assistant to keep track of where to watch the team’s games this season. On Wednesday, Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service announced it will be the exclusive home to 21 Yankees games during the 2025 regular season.
Prime Video has aired this package of 21 games each season since 2021, when the streamer purchased the package of games previously shown on local over-the-air channel Pix 11. Similar to last year’s slate, 18 of the 21 matchups will air on Wednesday evenings.
These games will be available to all Prime Video subscribers within the Yankees’ local media footprint—covering New York State, Connecticut, north and central New Jersey, and northeast Pennsylvania—at no additional cost. Unfortunately for fans, tracking where these games air has become quite complicated. The defending American League champions will have their games shown on YES Network, Prime Video, ESPN, Fox, FS1, Roku, and possibly Apple TV, though they have yet to confirm their official schedule for this season.
Continuing its collaboration, Prime Video will utilize the YES Network broadcast crew. According to Amazon, "The YES Network’s Emmy Award-winning broadcast team, in collaboration with Prime Video, will return to produce and call the action for all 21 Prime Video games." This includes the returning 30-minute pregame show, featuring Meredith Marakovits hosting for home games and Bob Lorenz for away games, providing breakdowns of key matchups and player insights.
Behind the mic, viewers will hear YES Network’s renowned play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay, who is entering his 34th year as the voice of the storied franchise. Kay will be joined by well-known analysts such as David Cone, Paul O’Neill, Joe Girardi, John Flaherty, and Jeff Nelson to provide insights throughout each game broadcast.
Amazon has positioned itself as a significant player in the live sports arena. There’s been notable movement within streaming circles as traditional cable formats are increasingly losing viewership to online platforms. This shift toward digital has become more apparent as consumers abandon cable subscriptions. Scheduled for its first exclusive game on April 2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Prime Video is making moves to appeal to the younger audience of sports fans who prefer to stream.
The decisions made by Prime Video hint at the overall strategy within the industry. Streaming giants like Netflix have begun venturing more boldly toward live sports content to diversify their offerings. Recently, Netflix acquired high-profile events such as the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match and WWE's Raw, spending over $5 billion to solidify their involvement.
This competitive spirit has propelled streaming platforms, including Amazon, to up their game when it involves live fosters. Currently, Prime Video streams not just MLB games, but also the NBA, Thursday Night Football, NASCAR, the Seattle Kraken, and Overtime Elite, indicating their commitment to broaden viewership through regular live sports content.
Fans will have access to Yankees games through the Prime Video app or website utilizing compatible devices, ensuring convenient access to live action, stats, and details powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). This includes features like Amazon’s innovative X-Ray technology, which allows viewers to access live stats and player information simultaneously with the action.
Among its 21 Yankees games slated for the upcoming season are matchups against notable teams like the Baltimore Orioles, the Houston Astros, and the Philadelphia Phillies. These encounters promise to be exciting for Yankees fans as seven of the opposing teams participated in the 2024 postseason.
The complete schedule of Yankees games on Prime Video can be found on Amazon's dedicated landing page for the Yankees offering viewers insights and ease of access as the season approaches.
So, for the dedicated New York Yankees fans, once again, the team’s games can be enjoyed comfortably at home or on the go, as long as they have access to Prime Video’s extensive streaming capabilities. This partnership also highlights the evolution of how sports are being consumed, especially considering the tidal wave of digital transformation witnessed lately.
Finding where to watch will be somewhat less of a hassle with Prime Video, where what began as just another streaming service continues to become the new age venue for live sports.