Yankees fans now have even more ways to interact with their hometown team on the go. YES Network announced they are adding interactive in-stream content for fans to access during game broadcasts on their app starting this week.
Graphics pop up on the screen with polls, facts, and other interactive tools to engage fans. The network is integrating the technology into other sports streams later this year. This is another way that YES has experimented with holding on-the-go consumers engaged since they took over streaming duties from Fox Sports Go.
App developer Clearbridge built the “Edge” product alongside Ease Live. The former worked with the NBA and Turner on the NBA League Pass interactive feature set. The YES app’s unique per-game viewership has shot up 236% over last year’s numbers on Fox Sports Go.
“This is the first time we’ve been able to control our own destiny as it relates to digital,” YES managing editor and director of digital media, Kevin Sullivan told Sportico in an interview. “We really want to be technology leaders.”
YES Network has dominated ratings for much of the century, ranking as the most-watched regional sports network in the country 16 of the past 18 years.
“What we see this app going towards is building a way within this ecosystem where fans can talk to each other,” YES senior director of strategy and business development Matt Duarte said to Sportico. “We really want to build this as a way to engage with as many fans as possible on as many platforms as possible.”
Everyone in media is trying to keep hold of their slice of the pie in a fracturing landscape. YES isn’t sitting on their hands in this environment, showing a clear initiative to innovate with their most important platforms. The more fans feel like they are a part of the action, the more they’ll engage with the product.
