The complications surrounding the Orioles sale do not end with the ownership structure or the development lease surrounding Camden Yards. The agreement between the Angelos family and David Rubenstein raises more questions than it answers when it comes to MASN, or Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.
MASN was created after the Montreal Expos moved to Washington and began playing as the Washington Nationals. Prior to this relocation, the Orioles had a sizable fanbase throughout Washington D.C., and the team was reluctant to lose it to a rival team—especially one so close to it. When he bought the team in 1993, Peter Angelos inherited the broadcast rights to the Baltimore-Washington region, extending from the Pennsylvania border to North Carolina and from West Virginia to Delaware. [1] In the early-2000s, Peter Angelos threatened to sue MLB over the Nationals’ “encroachment” upon his territory, saying that the Orioles would suffer lower attendance and viewership, which would devalue the club. [2] To placate the Orioles, the MLB Commissioner at the time proposed the creation of MASN in which the Orioles, in perpetuity, would own the majority of the network and control the media rights of the Nationals. [3] Currently, the ownership stake of MASN has the Orioles receiving 67% and the Nationals owning 33% of the network’s revenues. [4]
Unsurprisingly, this created some headaches for MLB. For nearly a decade, Peter Angelos and the Lerner family, the owners of the Nationals, engaged in several court battles over the distribution of profits for both teams. The division of NASN also proved difficult for the Lerner family when they sought to sell the Nationals, as several suitors were “spooked” by the fact that one of the team’s largest income streams and media rights were wrapped in so much uncertainty and disagreement. [5]
The Orioles new ownership group could change this situation. First, Rubenstein could sell the Nationals’ media rights to them. The most intriguing situation, however, includes the possibility of another party buying the Nationals’ media rights. Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics might want to expand his existing regional sports network. [6] Leonsis owns his own regional sports network, Monumental Sports Network, and intends to build “the world’s most valuable regional sports and entertainment company.” [7] Buying the Nationals’ media right would add to significant value to Leonsis’s network by being able to broadcast all of DC’s sporting events.
Another issue, however, may complicate both Rubenstein’s and Leonsis’s decisions regarding MASN – the swift decline of regional sports networks. The decline of regional sport networks is attributed to viewers “cutting the cord” and cancelling their cable deals. Viewers are now choosing to stream games, or to not watch them at all. [8] Rubenstein—and prospective buyers—may view regional sports networks as a bad investment and refuse to act any further with MASN. Because of this impasse, the MLB may be forced to act.
MLB could pressure Rubenstein into selling NASN to end the tenuous media arrangement between the two clubs. While the Angelos family owned MASN, MLB insisted that it could do “nothing” to undo the terms of the agreement. [9] Without the Angelos family making decisions, some people believe that Commissioner Robert Manfred may use his position to require the Orioles to relinquish ownership of the Nationals’ TV rights. [10] Specifically, MLB could require the divestment of the Nationals’ media rights as a prerequisite of the Orioles sale. [11]
This, however, conflicts with the Angelos family’s original settlement with MLB, which stated that the Orioles will control the Nationals’ rights in perpetuity even if the team is sold. As MLB works to finalize the Orioles’ sale in the coming weeks, it will have much to consider. One thing is clear: MASN’s future remains very uncertain.
[3] See id.
[4] https://www.sportico.com/business/team-sales/2024/orioles-sale-washington-nationals-1234765235/
[5] See id.
[6] See id.
[7] See id.
[8] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/sports/regional-sports-networks-bankruptcy.html
[9] https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/02/09/masn-baltimore-orioles-ownership
[10] https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/02/08/rob-manfred-orioles-sale-masn-change
[11] See id.
Leave a Reply