Fox trying to buy MASN

[BrunoCherrytown]

I would assume, if Pete is interested in keeping the Orioles relevant, the he'd have some sort of agreement with MLB and Fox (or whoever would purchase MASN) that the O's and Nats would receive equal funds from the rights fee pool.

If he sells MASN he's selling the insurance policy he demanded to keep them relevant. Fox wouldn't just pay a small market team with low ratings - large market team rights. The Os are a major market team because Angelos controls the majority o the TV rights of a good chunk of the mid-Atlantic and Southern US - its the cable dues.

We are a small market team because he chooses to be. We'll all see how small market we are when Fox shows us the difference between DC's and BMores TV rights if the Nats start building a real base in the years ahead. It'll become real clear to all of us. I was an exec at the largest ad agency outside of NYC for years before going off on my own. I know the science of DMAs like others know saber metrics.

Trust me - we need MASN and the Os sold together.

[stomperspc]

Those are good points, but future owners or PGA's family, once he has passed, may use the money to invest in the Orioles. MASN is prime asset, PGA has to be careful.

That's true. Although all other things being equal, I would like to see the Orioles receive the highest possible annual fees for their television rights since that is guaranteed, annual revenue on the Orioles' books, rather than relying on anything else potentially happening.

[Mr Snuffleupagus]

I would assume, if Pete is interested in keeping the Orioles relevant, the he'd have some sort of agreement with MLB and Fox (or whoever would purchase MASN) that the O's and Nats would receive equal funds from the rights fee pool.

This is my thought as well. I think that if PA can retain his majority ownership of MASN then it's probably in the best interest of the O's to keep things as-is. BUT, if we're inevitably going to have the share revenue with the Nats, closer to 50/50, then it probably makes sense for the O's to be aired on the most profitable network they can be. I have to think a Fox version of MASN would be something worth tuning into 365 days a year, not just 162.

All that said, I'm taking Bruno's word for it.

[Can_of_corn]

So would this be a good or bad thing? I'm getting mixed reviews.

We don't know.

I think if you receive MASN that the content would improve under a new stewardship.

If PA sells MASN and keeps the team not much changes. Additional money will be spent as he sees fit.

If PA sells MASN and the O's to different entities then the new ownership will only have the money from the TV rights, not the additional money from the MASN ownership stake.

[clapdiddy]

Trust me - we need MASN and the Os sold together.

OK...this makes more sense. If the O's are sold as a "package" with MASN, Fox would have a bigger stake in the Orioles franchise and would make a better effort to make the revenue stream between the Nats (assuming they stay with MASN) and the O's more equally distributed.

I'm guessing that's what you are saying?

[Frobby]

If he sells MASN he's selling the insurance policy he demanded to keep them relevant. Fox wouldn't just pay a small market team with low ratings - large market team rights. The Os are a major market team because Angelos controls the majority o the TV rights of a good chunk of the mid-Atlantic and Southern US - its the cable dues.

We are a small market team because he chooses to be. We'll all see how small market we are when Fox shows us the difference between DC's and BMores TV rights if the Nats start building a real base in the years ahead. It'll become real clear to all of us. I was an exec at the largest ad agency outside of NYC for years before going off on my own. I know the science of DMAs like others know saber metrics.

Trust me - we need MASN and the Os sold together.

I don't really get why MASN and the O's need to be sold together. What we need is for MASN to pay us fair market value for our rights fees in the large area that is "Oriole territory," and for Angelos to take a portion of the sales price he gets for MASN* and use it to better capitalize the team.

* I'm using shorthand here. Angelos does not own 100% of the Orioles, and the group that owns the Orioles doesn't own 100% of MASN.

[Can_of_corn]

I don't really get why MASN and the O's need to be sold together. What we need is for MASN to pay us fair market value for our rights fees in the large area that is "Oriole territory," and for Angelos to take a portion of the sales price he gets for MASN* and use it to better capitalize the team.

* I'm using shorthand here. Angelos does not own 100% of the Orioles, and the group that owns the Orioles doesn't own 100% of MASN.

If MASN and the O's are sold to the right owner then much more then the fair market value becomes available.

[BrunoCherrytown]

I don't really get why MASN and the O's need to be sold together. What we need is for MASN to pay us fair market value for our rights fees in the large area that is "Oriole territory," and for Angelos to take a portion of the sales price he gets for MASN* and use it to better capitalize the team.

* I'm using shorthand here. Angelos does not own 100% of the Orioles, and the group that owns the Orioles doesn't own 100% of MASN.

You made my point for me. Baltimore is a small market on its own. If Os get paid just for Baltimore we are not that far off now. DC is the size of Boston basically - they're 7 and 8 in DMA rankings. Boston has the edge by 17.5k TV households. .7% as in less than 1% separate them. For reference about 1.3 million households separate DC from Baltimore. It's night and day.

If one of either DC or BMore was to benefit from surrounding DMAs it'd be DC. The VA and south DMAs are bigger and there's more of them than whats north of BMore - although Harrisburg is no slouch.

Unless Fox gets bent over on a MASN sale on TV rights we're screwed. We'll be Tampa. We'll be the Marlins - well technically both those areas are in larger DMAs than Baltimore. So now we'd have to hope for overwhelming large TV ratings for future rights fees deals because our first deal would be bargain bin.

[weams]

If he sells MASN he's selling the insurance policy he demanded to keep them relevant. I know the science of DMAs like others know saber metrics.

Trust me - we need MASN and the Os sold together.

I do agree. And I do not have your Spidey Sense of DMA.

[CA-ORIOLE]

You made my point for me. Baltimore is a small market on its own. If Os get paid just for Baltimore we are not that far off now. DC is the size of Boston basically - they're 7 and 8 in DMA rankings. Boston has the edge by 17.5k TV households. .7% as in less than 1% separate them. For reference about 1.3 million households separate DC from Baltimore. It's night and day.

If one of either DC or BMore was to benefit from surrounding DMAs it'd be DC. The VA and south DMAs are bigger and there's more of them than whats north of BMore - although Harrisburg is no slouch.

Unless Fox gets bent over on a MASN sale on TV rights we're screwed. We'll be Tampa. We'll be the Marlins - well technically both those areas are in larger DMAs than Baltimore. So now we'd have to hope for overwhelming large TV ratings for future rights fees deals because our first deal would be bargain bin.

Yeah, this doesn't sound good.

[TradeAngelos]

One last middle finger to the Orioles fans on his way out the door, King Pete never disappoints. Sell off MASN for a boatlaod of cash, and then sell the team off with no RSN that has little potential for huge profits like it does now with MASN owing the rights to the entire region. He will probably walk away with a billion dollars, if not more.

Then we have a new owner, with a small market backing and a very small TV rights package reflecting the true Baltimore market, without DC in the mix.

You just can't make this stuff up.

At least I am glad that most see that he has been hoarding money now, so at least we are making some progress around here.

[BrunoCherrytown]

Yeah, this doesn't sound good.

This is why I make this one point repetitively on here. MASN was one of the greatest coups in the history of sports. And it was delivered into the hands of a greedy family. Keeping some pools open anonymously in the summer is great and all but when it's weighed against pocketing literally tens and tens and tens of millions in pure profits a year for putting out an inferior product every year but one while claiming poverty - it's offensive to everybody who has an understanding of how the media side of this works.

[weams]

This is why I make this one point repetitively on here. MASN was one of the greatest coups in the history of sports. And it was delivered into the hands of a greedy family. Keeping some pools open anonymously in the summer is great and all but when it's weighed against pocketing literally tens and tens and tens of millions in pure profits a year for putting out an inferior product every year but one while claiming poverty - it's offensive to everybody who has an understanding of how the media side of this works.

So. What is the best for our club? Media wise.

[BrunoCherrytown]

So. What is the best for our club? Media wise.

You need the Os and the Os' owners stake in MASN sold to one owner and as sacreligious as this may be it shouldn't be Cal in any more than a Nolan Ryan capacity.

You need it sold to Mark Cuban. He's a Pirates fan so it's not too far down the road where his allegiances lie. Cuban, besides his Internet pedigree also is heavily into TV with his existing ownership stake in some cable stations.

[osfan83]

Essentially keeping them together gives us the future possibilies of a larget revenue stream to the team even though that stream is not being utilized by the curent ownership. Seperating them removes that posibilty, and puts us on par with Pittsburgh and Oakland as far as TV markets go. Prior to the Nats coming to town the O's could lay claim to DC, NOVA and some of the Carolinas. PA gave in to MLB and gave up a large chunk of his exclusive market in exchange for a guarenteed sale price for the team and great terms for the ownership of MASN. MASN to date has not contributed much to the O's fortunes (probably because the network is still in it's infancy, and it's two marque products sucked prior to 2012) but has the potential to do so, if held together under one ownership group.