Urges Comcast and YES Network to renew their carriage agreement before its expiration in March 2025.

2024-2025 Regular Session Introduced by Craig Coughlin and 2 co-sponsors

Urges Comcast and YES to renew their carriage agreement before March 25, 2025 to prevent Yankees/Nets outages for New Jersey subscribers and push for fair, pro-consumer terms.

Filed with Secretary of State

#internet #television

Overview

AR 185 is an Assembly Resolution in the New Jersey General Assembly urging Comcast Cable and the YES Network (YES) to renew their carriage agreement before its expiration in March 2025. It is a non-binding, pro forma statement intended to encourage good-faith negotiations and protect subscribers from potential service disruptions.

Purpose and Intent

Prevent disruption of broadcasts for fans of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets who rely on YES, particularly those served by Comcast in New Jersey and surrounding regions.

Emphasize the value of live sports programming and the importance of carriage agreements in maintaining access to popular teams.

Advocate for consumer-friendly terms, including a potential pro rata reimbursement to customers for any days of broadcast interruption.

Urge both parties to negotiate in good faith and to avoid terms that would raise Comcast customers’ costs for YES programming.

Key Provisions

Request: Comcast and YES should renew their carriage agreement before its expiration (noted as March 25, 2025 in the introduced text).

Good-faith negotiations: Both parties are encouraged to enter negotiations with a focus on preserving access without rate increases to Comcast subscribers who are Yankees fans.

Consumer protection: The resolution asks Comcast to consider pro rata reimbursement to affected customers for each day that broadcasts are interrupted.

Communications: Copies of the resolution will be transmitted to the CEO of Comcast Cable and the CEO of the YES Network to convey legislative interest in a timely renewal.

Position on content: Reaffirms YES as the exclusive regional sports network for Yankees content since 2002 and its role in broadcasting Nets games.

Affected Parties

Primary: Comcast Cable subscribers in New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania who access YES.

YES Network and the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets organizations, as broadcast content providers and rights holders.

The resolution frames potential impacts in terms of access to live sports during openings and seasonal broadcasts.

Procedural Status and Timeline

Introduced: March 24, 2025.

Legislative actions: 1st Reading without Reference; 2nd Reading; Passed Assembly with a vote of 65-3-6.

Status: Filed with the New Jersey Secretary of State.

Nature: Non-binding resolution (not a law or regulatory mandate); serves as an expression of the Assembly’s position and a call to action for the involved parties.

Expiration context: The introduced text specifies the urgency tied to the upcoming March 2025 expiration of the carriage agreement.

Potential Impact

While non-binding, AR 185 may press Comcast and YES toward a timely renewal and more favorable consumer terms.

Could influence public and subscriber attitudes regarding the importance of live sports carriage agreements.

If the parties reach a renewal, continued access to Yankees and Nets games for affected New Jersey subscribers is likely to be maintained ahead of the season’s openings.

Note: This summary reflects the introduced and Assembly-passed version information; no Senate action is indicated here.

Bill