Just Say No To YES

I can remember a time when the primary goal of the YES network (the network that broadcasts Yankee games in New York) was to show a baseball game. Sadly, that's no longer the case. Now their primary goal, far more important than the game itself, is to insert as many sponsorship ads and product placements as they possibly can. Forget about the pre-game and post-game shows--those are jokes. Those have always been just lame excuses to show non-stop sponsorships and promos, one right after the other. But now the game itself has come to be indistinguishable from the pre-game and post-game shows. It's rare that a minute goes by during a game without some sponsor's name or logo appearing on screen. It's disgusting. We're already subjected to more than an hour's worth of between-inning commercials during an average game (or at least I would be if I wasn't watching on a DVR delay). But now the commercials continue right through the game itself. And let's not forget that we're already paying our cable company for the "privilege" of getting YES. But that's not enough to satisfy the greedy YES executives. They have to fill virtually every second of the game with promos and product placements. But no more. I'm done. I have watched my last Yankee game on YES. If the YES network cares so little about me, why should I continue to watch? The last straw was when the money-grubbing producers decided that every replay in the seventh inning would begin and end with a vodka ad (that's a great lesson for the kids, by the way. Don't do steroids, but drink plenty of vodka.). So instead of watching the Yankees, I'll read about them in the paper. If they make it to the post-season, I'll watch them then since those games will air on another network. But it's such a shame what has happened to YES. I can guarantee that it won't be long before sponsors' logos begin appearing continuously on the screen throughout the entire game. Luckily, I won't be sticking around to see that happen.