The Yankees are a "tradition-rich franchise stuck with too few current stars their fans are drawn to," and the players on their roster are "more marketable to other teams than to their own fans," according to Danny Knobler of BLEACHER REPORT. At Yankee Stadium, "you're just as likely to see" a jersey bearing the name of now-Mariners 2B Robinson Cano "as one honoring any current Yankee." No current Yankee "made the list of the top 20 baseball jerseys sold last year." Their "drop-off in star power has been drastic, and as much as the Yankees need wins to stay in the pennant race, they need stars to stay in the race for relevancy." It is "not just about jerseys and All-Star votes." The Yankees "need to sell tickets, and they need to attract eyeballs to television sets so the team-owned YES network can sell advertising." The Mets for the first time in the decade are "topping the Yankees in local ratings" on their respective team-owned RSNs. The Yankees' average home attendance through Tuesday was 38,022, which is tied with the Angels atop the AL and sixth-best in baseball. But the Yankees are "down 1,800 a game from last year and 8,000 a game" from '10. In addition, the Yankees from '01-15 "ranked first or second" in the AL in road attendance. So far this year, "they're fifth" (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 6/30).
GOOD COP, BAD COP: VICE SPORTS' Joseph Flynn wrote the Yankees' dispute with StubHub this season "was a unique moment in recent Yankees history, not because the team committed to wringing every last dollar out of their fans," but because someone other than team President Randy Levine "led the charge as the most aggro and dismissive" Yankees exec. Yankees COO Lonn Trost "stole the show this time, implying that people who buy discounted tickets ... might not know how to behave properly in the rarified air of the premium sections." It is "not like Trost said anything that didn't reflect the Yankees' general view of fans, but in hindsight it's a reminder of why the team usually leaves it to Randy Levine to do this sort of work" (SPORTS.VICE.com, 6/29).
COMCAST IN CHARGE: In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes Comcast has had "every ounce of pressure" lifted off them to "cut a deal with Fox-owned YES" in their carriage dispute. Comcast's 900,000 local subscribers have "not exactly been clamoring" for YES' return because of the Yankees' on-field struggles. Comcast has "not lost thousands of subscribers" by not airing the Yankees. Raissman writes of the on-field product, "It's terribly inconsistent, at times unwatchable." The team is also "lacking sizzle or a must-see player." The Yankees have said that YES execs have been "reaching out to Comcast on a regular basis." Sources said that there has been "little to no contact between the two parties." Raissman notes this usually happens "when one participant in the dispute (in this case Comcast) is holding all the cards." The blackout "has cost" YES $13.5M in carriage fees from Comcast, a number which by the end of the season "could rise" to $27M. If ratings continue to fall, it will "negatively impact what YES can charge advertisers to air ads" on '17 telecasts. One way this could get settled is when any of Fox' other contracts with Comcast "come up for negotiation, the leverage could switch." Fox could make any "carriage deal for those outlets contingent on finalizing an agreement with YES." Creating their own cable network, then selling it for billions to Fox, "was just one part of a business plan that has been highly successful and reliable for the Yankees." It is a plan that may be "in need of revision" after their decline the last few years. A source said, "The Yankees' business plan was based on expensive seats, big ratings on the YES Network, signing all these free agents and marketing their history. The plan may not be collapsing but it's certainly being severely challenged" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/1).
