Regional Sports Outlet YES Plans Animated Kids’ Series

Regional sports network YES hopes young fans of the Yankees will thrill to meet the Bronx Buds.

The regional sports network, backed by Yankee Global Enterprises, Diamond Sports Group and Amazon, among others, will dip its corporate toes into animation when it debuts a new baseball-themed animated series called “HexClad Presents Bronx Buds,” on Saturday mornings starting August 17. The series follows a Bronx-based youth team called The Pinstripes. YES main draw is its telecasts of games featuring the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets.

The series will be available to registered YES App users in YES’ regional coverage territory, which includes New York State, Connecticut, north and central New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as to subscribers of the YES national feed throughout the country who have the YES App.

Each of the series’ characters — including Riv, Bash and Oscar – will be voiced by members of production outlet Tzero Studios, including co-founders Justin Shenkarow and Tom Borowski. Tzero Studios members working on this new YES App series have also worked on shows such as “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Hey Arnold!”

Each episode will be approximately seven minutes in length, with new episodes premiering on the YES App on subsequent Saturday mornings. Viewers can expect a new story line in each episode as The Pinstripes rely on teamwork and friendship to navigate the challenges of elementary school and youth sports.

The new program is the latest in a series of original programs made available via the network’s app, including “The Story of My Number Presented by New York Lottery,” “Home Plate: New York,” “The Balance” and “Bronx Beat.“