Weil advised Providence Equity Partners, a minority partner in Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES), in News Corporation’s acquisition of a 49 percent stake in YES. YES is a New York City-based regional cable television channel that broadcasts sports events, including New York Yankees baseball games and Brooklyn Nets basketball games. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2012.
Yankee Global Enterprises, Goldman Sachs, Providence Equity Partners, and NJ Holdings currently own YES and will reduce their ownership interests in the network in connection with this transaction. News Corporation has the option to increase its ownership interest in YES to 80 percent after three years.
In addition, YES announced that it has secured a media rights agreement allowing the network to broadcast Yankees games through 2042. The media rights agreement is subject to Major League Baseball approval.
The Weil team advising Providence Equity Partners, a private equity firm, was led by Corporate partners David K. Duffell (Providence) and Michael E. Weisser (New York). Providence Equity is a long-standing client of the firm. Most recently, Weil advised Providence in the sale of its stake in Hulu, an online video service that delivers free on-demand premium television programming and films, to joint venture co-owners News Corporation, Comcast Corporation, and The Walt Disney Company.
