Could a sale of the Nats to Ted Leonsis’ group lead to an end to the MASN dispute?

[maybenxtyr]

The best case scenario in my opinion would be a sale of the Nats, them resolving the MASN deal and then the Orioles dropping MASN all together. Sell the TV rights to Comcast or whatever it is in this area still. At least the TV rights should be better quality than what they're producing, and it should be profitable for the team.

[Going Underground]

32 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

The best case scenario in my opinion would be a sale of the Nats, them resolving the MASN deal and then the Orioles dropping MASN all together. Sell the TV rights to Comcast or whatever it is in this area still. At least the TV rights should be better quality than what they're producing, and it should be profitable for the team.

MASN is profitable.If they do come to a mutual agreement, they definitely would not need MASN 1 and 2. Only so many infomercials and other dreck to go around. Anyone find the rating for MASN this year? I have found it every year but this year.

[vab]

10 hours ago, NedFromYork said:

If the Nats buy their way out of MASN to be on one of the NBC regional channel, anybody have thoughts on what territory MASN/Orioles would be restricted to for broadcast?

They would have to share the current territory. They can't limit the Orioles to a little space between Philadelphia and Washington. 

[Moose Milligan]

What MASN dispute?  Is that still a thing?

[Campmoon]

Orioles getting an exclusive territory and sharing in the Nationals territory seems more equitable for the allowance of breaking the current agreement.

[Frobby]

11 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

What MASN dispute?  Is that still a thing?

Yes, for two reasons:

1.  The dispute about the 2012-16 rights fees is still in the NY Court of Appeals for final resolution.  

2.  No matter how that turns out, the rights fees for 2017 and beyond have never been agreed upon.  The way the two sides have played it, there’s no certainty at all about what anyone gets from MASN from one year to the next.  

Both sides would benefit from a MASN/Nats divorce, IMO.   But to do that, they have to agree on a price and terms.   That won’t be easy, but having a new Nats ownership group that doesn’t have the baggage of all the past litigation might allow for a more rational negotiation between the two parties than we’ve seen to date.   Honestly, there should be ways to do this that allow both sides to be better off than just continuing the status quo.   

 

[Morgan423]

On 10/22/2022 at 8:45 AM, crowmst3k! said:

Finally made it out of rookie ball, and it only took 13 years!

Hey, you gotta focus on quality, not quantity

[Ripken]

While not to the level of the ownership clusterF, this legal battle is just another long, drawn out, distraction and black eye for this franchise.  So, sure, anything that gets one of our many issues resolved would be great.

[justD]

My guess is that the dispute as well as the severe cutbacks in every aspect of the product have contributed to the wretched quality we see on MASN broadcasts.  It would sure be nice if, when the purse-strings for players start to loosen, the same would happen with their regional sports network.  But if the dispute continues, I could see them using that as an excuse to continue the lack of funding. 

For that reason more than anything, I'm really hoping the Nats' purchase might bring an end to it soon. 

[Frobby]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/11/latest-on-nationals-sales-process-masn-deal.html