Comcast and Fox have "come to terms on a new distribution agreement" for YES Network as part of a larger deal to continue carriage of Fox-owned channels, according to Joe Flint of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Comcast stopped carrying the Fox-owned RSN in late '15. Terms of the roughly four-year pact were not disclosed, but sources said that Comcast’s "monthly carriage fee for Fox News will exceed $1.50 per-subscriber initially, with annual increases." According to SNL Kagan data, Fox News "trails only ESPN, TNT and Disney Channel in subscription fees." Besides Fox News and YES, the deal covers 12 other Fox-owned RSNs. Comcast "distributes YES primarily in New Jersey." One of the "most popular" RSNs, YES "costs an average of $5.36 per-month." Sources said that YES was "seeking to reach close to $6 in its next deal with Comcast." Sources said that while the price tag is "steep, that wasn’t the primary issue of the dispute." Instead the rift "had to do with contract language involving so-called 'most-favored nation' clauses designed to ensure a distributor that a channel won’t strike a better deal with a rival." Although there is an "accord on YES, it won’t immediately return to Comcast subscribers." Sources said that the channel will "likely not be back until after the baseball season starts." One channel that Comcast is "dropping is the Fox College Sports network, which has low ratings" (WSJ.com, 1/1).
STAY OF EXECUTION: In L.A., Meg James reported NBCU -- which owns sports nets like NBCSN and Golf Channel -- "granted an extension in its carriage talks" with Charter Communications, "averting a New Year’s Eve blackout of NBC-owned channels in nearly 16 million homes in the U.S. with Spectrum service" (L.A. TIMES, 1/1).
