Is News Corp. pursuing regional sports net? YES.

Before News Corp. announces its long-anticipated national cable sports network, it’s pushing further into the local sports market.

The company is rumored to be buying a stake in YES Network, the New York regional channel that is partially owned by the New York Yankees and broadcasts their games as well as those of the Brooklyn Nets.

The deal could be announced tomorrow, according to The New York Times.

The Yankees would maintain their majority 34 percent stake in the cable channel, with News Corp. making its purchase from shares owned by equity partners in the network, such as Goldman Sachs.

The purchase would solidify News Corp.’s foothold in the world of regional sports. It already owns a string of regional Fox Sports that holds rights to local baseball or basketball games.

And it would continue to set up the anticipated general-interest sports channel, a challenger to ESPN, that News Corp. has long been rumored to be pursuing.

News Corp. has never commented on a timeline for such a project, but it has been stockpiling sports rights deals to give the network content.

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