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Is Angelos quietly shopping the Orioles?

SammyBirdland

By SammyBirdland
in Orioles Talk

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Birds of B'more Hangout Grand Counsel

Birds of B'more

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I can't see any competent business man buying the O's without MASN. It just would boggle the mind. I mean we get $29 million in rights fees now. We have bottom of the barrel TV ratings. I'm not sure we'd get $75 million a year like the Padres are supposedly about to get. And we wouldn't get the 9-digit and up ones of Texas, Dodgers, etc.

I have to agree. The Orioles have far less value without ownership in MASN, and if the rumor in the OP is to be believed then it's no surprise at all to me that Angelos isn't getting the price he wants. If the Orioles were to be sold separately from MASN then the best a new owner could hope for is that once the O's current TV contract expires, CSN decides to go big in a bid to get baseball back and a bidding war ensues between them and MASN. And even then I'm not sure they would get enough money to be anything more than the other small-market teams.

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Fan4Life Hangout Veteran Council

Fan4Life

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I have to agree. The Orioles have far less value without ownership in MASN' date=' and if the rumor in the OP is to be believed then it's no surprise at all to me that Angelos isn't getting the price he wants. If the Orioles were to be sold separately from MASN then the best a new owner could hope for is that once the O's current TV contract expires, CSN decides to go big in a bid to get baseball back and a bidding war ensues between them and MASN. And even then I'm not sure they would get enough money to be anything more than the other small-market teams.[/quote']

Is there anything preventing the new owner to start his own sports network featuring the O's and let MASN have the Nats?

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Can_of_corn Hangout Grand Counsel

Can_of_corn

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I have to agree. The Orioles have far less value without ownership in MASN' date=' and if the rumor in the OP is to be believed then it's no surprise at all to me that Angelos isn't getting the price he wants. If the Orioles were to be sold separately from MASN then the best a new owner could hope for is that once the O's current TV contract expires, CSN decides to go big in a bid to get baseball back and a bidding war ensues between them and MASN. And even then I'm not sure they would get enough money to be anything more than the other small-market teams.[/quote']

The purchasing team could stipulate an extension of the current deal with MASN under more favorable financial terms.

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Can_of_corn Hangout Grand Counsel

Can_of_corn

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Can you explain? The O's are free to sign with any media outlet they choose correct?

By no means am I a legal expert but since MLB was instrumental in forming MASN and MASN already encompasses the O's "coverage area" with a MLB product (Nats) I would not be surprised if MLB took legal action to stop another RSN from carrying unsanctioned MLB product in direct competition to MASN.

Even if they ultimately lost it would cost the new owner money and time in which the O's would not be televised at all.

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Fan4Life Hangout Veteran Council

Fan4Life

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By no means am I a legal expert but since MLB was instrumental in forming MASN and MASN already encompasses the O's "coverage area" with a MLB product (Nats) I would not be surprised if MLB took legal action to stop another RSN from carrying unsanctioned MLB product in direct competition to MASN.

Even if they ultimately lost it would cost the new owner money and time in which the O's would not be televised at all.

That's an interesting take. Yet the O's could sign with Fox Sports or Comcast Sports that already exist right? I wouldn't think a team is obligated to a specific RSN as that would remove any negotiating rights.

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Birds of B'more Hangout Grand Counsel

Birds of B'more

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Is there anything preventing the new owner to start his own sports network featuring the O's and let MASN have the Nats?

The only thing that would prevent it (once the O's contract w/MASN expires) is that the Mid-Atlantic market is already at its peak for RSN's (IMO) and that there would not be enough premium live sports content available to drive consumer demand to get the kind carriage fees that you would need to make a network profitable.

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BrunoCherrytown Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

BrunoCherrytown

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It does when there are not any lumberjacks collecting cable subscriber fees.

Yep, the reason why MASN will be attached to any new buyer. Forced subscriber dues regardless of ratings is probably the greatest coup in Angelos' long, illustrious legal career, and long pathetic ownership career.

But any deal for the O's with a Fox Sports or regional provider won't have those. They'll be paid for the direct value to increasing the ratings/advertising revenue of that TV network. Which currently would be about 25 cents.

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Birds of B'more Hangout Grand Counsel

Birds of B'more

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The purchasing team could stipulate an extension of the current deal with MASN under more favorable financial terms.

They could, but if I'm the new owner I think I might want to test the market. CSN has a pretty big hole in their live sports offerings during the summer, and I bet they'd love a shot at getting the O's back. And it's not like MASN would just let them walk away either.

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