Sports fans in New York and New Jersey can watch the YES Network live without cable on DIRECTV STREAM by signing up for the “Choice” plan or through the newly launched YES Network app.
The YES Network is a popular regional sports network, or “RSN,” that is best known for broadcasting Yankees baseball games to MLB fans in the New York metro area. New for 2023, there are two options for watching the YES Network live-stream; DIRECTV STREAM “Choice” and the YES Network app.
Watch the YES Network in-market, as well as national sports channels like ESPN, TBS, FOX, and more. | $99.99 / month | 5 Day Free Trial |
Satellite option for households that cannot get fast WIFI. YES Network HD is channel 631 with DIRECTV. | $64.99 / month | Signup for DIRECTV |
Watch the YES Network in-market live without cable. | $19.99 / month | Signup for the YES Network App |
DIRECTV STREAM vs. the YES Network app
Now that in-market Yankee fans have two options for watching the YES Network live without cable, which streaming service is better for watching the Yankees?
As between the two options, we prefer DIRECTV STREAM “Choice” over the YES Network app. The main drawback with the YES Network app is you are paying for only one channel, so when the Yankees appear on TBS’s Tuesday Night Baseball, or in the MLB playoffs, the games are blacked out on the YES Network app.
With DIRECTV STREAM “Choice” Yankee fans get full coverage of the entire season from one app all the way through the World Series.
How big is the YES Network Territory?
The YES Network territory covers almost all of the state of New York, all of New York City, and the northern half of New Jersey. If you live in this territory, watching the YES Network will be the only way you can stream most Yankees, Nets, and NYC FC soccer games.
If you live outside of the YES Network territory, but still want to watch Yankees or Nets games, the two best options are MLB.TV for baseball and NBA League Pass for basketball.
YES Network is a rare RSN in that it enjoys a very large viewing audience (estimated at 293,000 viewers per game) and is majority owned by the New York Yankees (with Amazon as a minority partner). The Yankees became majority owner in the YES Network when Disney sold a number of RSN’s in its portfolio in 2019 so the Justice Department would approve its purchase of 21st Century Fox.
I moved away from NY, but still want to watch YES Network
If you live out of the YES Network viewing territory, you can still watch the Nets and Yankees by adding out-of-market products like MLB.TV and NBA League Pass. Rather than signing up for these services with Amazon, we recommend adding NBA League Pass to a YouTube TV account or MLB.TV to a Fubo account.
Which streaming services carry YES Network in 2023?
In the easy-to-use table below, we list the live TV streaming services that carry the YES Network. For 2023, only DIRECTV STREAM “Choice” carries YES Network.
| DIRECTV STREAM – Choice | Fubo | Hulu + Live TV | YouTube TV | Sling TV Orange + Sports Extra | YES Network App | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $99.99 / month | $74.99 / month | $69.99 / month | $72.99 / month | $46 / month | $19.99 / month |
How to watch YES Network on DIRECTV STREAM
How to watch YES Network live online
- If you don’t already have DIRECTV STREAM, signup for the “Choice” plan
- Add the DIRECTV STREAM app to your iPhone, tablet, or smart TV
The DIRECTV STREAM app is compatible with most streaming devices. Find the app in the App Store, download and log in. It’s that simple.
YouTube TV no longer carries the YES Network, which leaves only DIRECTV STREAM as the only live TV streaming service that offers Yankees games for New York and New Jersey fans.
Probably the biggest appeal of DIRECTV STREAM for sports fans is the service has the best coverage for MLB and NBA games because it carries the largest number of RSNs, including the YES Network.
Watching YES Network FAQ
Navigating YES Network blackouts can be tricky. We’ve heard from a lot of upset Yankees fans as the number of YES Network blackouts has increased. For example, Amazon has the rights to 21 YES Network broadcasts in 2022, which means fans in the tri-state area can’t watch these Yankee’s games without signing up for Amazon-Prime. For many Yankees fans, this makes their YES Network subscriptions less valuable.
Since DIRECTV STREAM does not offer its lineup of RSN’s to its base level Entertainment Package subscribers, cord cutters who want access to the YES Network will be required to pay $99.99 for the “Choice” Package. In addition to the YES Network, the DirecTV Choice package also comes with ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and FS1, all of which offer an excellent sports lineup in their own right.
Yes, the YES Network does air some Yankees’ spring training games. When there is a conflict with the Nets schedule, the Yankee game will be carried on the YES app. Here is the YES schedule of spring training games for 2023 as announced on the YES website:
Sunday, February 26 – Atlanta, 1 p.m. (YES app only)
Monday, February 27 – Detroit, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 1 – Washington, 1 p.m.
Saturday, March 4 – Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Monday, March 6 – Pittsburgh, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 8 – St. Louis, 1 p.m.
Thursday, March 9 – Boston, 1 p.m.
Saturday, March 11 – Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, March 15 – Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 21 – Detroit, 1 p.m.
Friday, March 24 – Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 26 – Toronto, 1 p.m.
Monday, March 27 – Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
In addition to MLB baseball, the YES Network carries WNBA, NBA, and MLS games in-market. The YES Network is so well subscribed because it is the exclusive local home of popular pro sports teams like:
the New York Yankees,
WNBA’s New York Liberty,
Brooklyn Nets,
and New York City FC soccer team schedule.
YES Network also carries a select lineup of ACC sporting events as part of the ACC on RSNs series. This means that a handful of Syracuse football and basketball games will air on YES each season.
As between the two, watching YES Network on DIRECTV STREAM will be much more convenient for most MLB fans. However, the YES Network territory extends into some rural areas that may not have great WIFI service. In those areas, a DIRECTV satellite dish will be a better choice. There has been some controversy in recent years about the slow internet speeds in upstate NY, which has been blamed for the lagging economies in some parts of the state. Due to broadband speeds of less than 100 Mbps, many cities in upstate NY may have a better experience with DIRECTV satellite (signup here) than with DIRECTV STREAM.