WP: Nats MASN deal renegotations will have a huge impact

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

yeah, I probably would. 

Absolutely, would you buy a puppy with three legs?

[PowerBoater69]

Sometimes when you take in those that most overlook, you get the greatest reward.

yeah, I probably would. 

That’s quite heart warming. Of course you wouldn't expect to win too many dog shows, you'd probably just be happy to be a dog owner again after 35 years.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Hell I might even take a pig to a dog show.

That’s quite heart warming. Of course you wouldn't expect to win too many dog shows, you'd probably just be happy to be a dog owner again after 35 years.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Hell I might even take a pig to a dog show.

You ever hear how you know an [slow witted fellow] is at a cock fight?  He's the one who shows up with a duck.  And how you know an [even slower witted fellow] is at a cock fight?  He's the one who bets on the duck.  And how you know [organized crime] is at a cock fight? The duck wins.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

looks like MASN is valued at $600MM, with the Nats stake at $108MM.
http://www.bloomberg.com/infographics/2013-10-23/mlb-team-values.html
This Bloomberg assessment values the Nats franchise at $850MM (counting MASN stake and share of MLB media), and team at $637MM.

[jhuterp]

Keep up the good work Bud, we're almost halfway to the second "reset" period in winter 2016/2017.....I'm assuming in the absence of any new agreement the Nats and MASN are operating under the old fee structure.  Does that mean any new agreement will be retroactive to the 2012 season?  If so MASN is going to be paying the Nats a big chunk of change in the case of any semi-reasonable adjustment.  I still think this ends with both teams tethered together, even if MASN is sold to another network.

Going back to the blO's "exclusive" tv rights for the DC region, didn't the barves broadcast their games via TBS into this market for a good chunk of the '80s and '90s?  For that matter didn't the Cubs do the same thing via WGN?  I thought I read somewhere that there was a loophole in the old baseball tv territories, including the one that Petey hung his hat on when threatening MLB with litigation, in that they only applied to over the air broadcasts and not cable (hence TBS and WGN).  In any case Bud sure caved to the little troll.

[RobDibblesGhost]

[nfotiu]

looks like MASN is valued at $600MM, with the Nats stake at $108MM.
http://www.bloomberg.com/infographics/2013-10-23/mlb-team-values.html
This Bloomberg assessment values the Nats franchise at $850MM (counting MASN stake and share of MLB media), and team at $637MM.

That is crazy that MASN is worth 600 million.  If cord cutting takes off, or RSNs' greed is the straw that forces legislation to unbundle expensive RSNs, MASN would be worth about 50 dollars.   Both of those things have very real chances of happening in the next 3-5 years.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I can't believe it, either.  NESN is valued at $840MM+ (red sox have an 80% share), but that is the #1 station in boston and much of New England.

[nfotiu]

I can't believe it, either.  NESN is valued at $840MM+ (red sox have an 80% share), but that is the #1 station in boston and much of New England.

In the crazy world of the current RSN madness, it kind of makes sense.  MASN has a pretty large footprint, and they are getting away with charging what, 2-3$/month to every cable and satellite subscriber in the area, even though a tiny percentage of those watch the Nats or O's.  So it doesn't much matter that more people watch NESN, since advertising dollars have been made almost insignificant compared to carriage fee revenue.   That situation just reeks of being unsustainable, and has to eventually correct itself.  I think the Dodgers new contract works out to something like $10,000 per actual viewer per year.  NESN will take a much smaller dent in a new model that I suspect will move towards something like these RSNs being a $10-20/month a la carte channel.  The Dodgers will probably go bankrupt again. 

[PowerBoater69]

@AdamKilgoreWP: @curlydubs @JamesWagnerWP Should be settled sometime this century. That was an actual response from someone involved.

@AdamKilgoreWP: @curlydubs @JamesWagnerWP They can sue anytime they want, I guess. The fact that they haven't shows they probably wouldn't win.

[HalfSmokes]

 

the sad part is that this has more to do with future payroll than anything else including success on the field. On a related not, with Selig retiring, I wonder how much one owner can delay and obstruct the appointment of a successor

[PowerBoater69]

The Lerners should start lobbying to allow cable customers to select sports channels ala cart which would have a major negative impact on funds coming into the cable companies. Ideally this would bankrupt some of the cable companies and allow them to break their deals with the various teams. In other words, if we can't sit at the trough of nine figure annual fees, blow up the whole system and bring everyone else down to our level.

[HalfSmokes]

The Lerners should start lobbying to allow cable customers to select sports channels ala cart which would have a major negative impact on funds coming into the cable companies. Ideally this would bankrupt some of the cable companies and allow them to break their deals with the various teams. In other words, if we can't sit at the trough of nine figure annual fees, blow up the whole system and bring everyone else down to our level.

I wonder if aereo needs more investors (an owner putting money there could make Selig's head explode)

[PowerBoater69]

the sad part is that this has more to do with future payroll than anything else including success on the field. On a related not, with Selig retiring, I wonder how much one owner can delay and obstruct the appointment of a successor

With the last CBA the Nats are not considered a small market team, but we're bringing in a third of the TV revenue of most of the other teams. We're double screwed.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

The Lerners should start lobbying to allow cable customers to select sports channels ala cart which would have a major negative impact on funds coming into the cable companies. Ideally this would bankrupt some of the cable companies and allow them to break their deals with the various teams. In other words, if we can't sit at the trough of nine figure annual fees, blow up the whole system and bring everyone else down to our level.

this sounds like a variation of a plot of a donald sutherland movie where he is a fireman who commits arson to get more funding for the fire department.

BTW - I think the movie was based on this case
https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/811/811.F2d.689.85-1273.85-1054.html

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

the "Mouse that Roared" scenario

[PowerBoater69]

It's the Braves fans favorite tactic, scorched earth.

[nfotiu]

The Lerners should start lobbying to allow cable customers to select sports channels ala cart which would have a major negative impact on funds coming into the cable companies. Ideally this would bankrupt some of the cable companies and allow them to break their deals with the various teams. In other words, if we can't sit at the trough of nine figure annual fees, blow up the whole system and bring everyone else down to our level.

I like it.  But this would only happen if the Lerner s cared more about on field success than making money. 

[GburgNatsFan]

I wonder if aereo needs more investors (an owner putting money there could make Selig's head explode)

How would aereo impact anything? So few games are actually broadcast anymore. I wish they were - broadcast HD is awesome (except FOX, which still does 720, and not that well).

[HalfSmokes]

How would aereo impact anything? So few games are actually broadcast anymore. I wish they were - broadcast HD is awesome (except FOX, which still does 720, and not that well).

National games on Fox are broadcast and that's a pretty large contract

[GburgNatsFan]

National games on Fox are broadcast and that's a pretty large contract

True. Just doesn't help me watch the Nats. If Nats games were broadcast, I'd cut the cord today.

[HalfSmokes]

True. Just doesn't help me watch the Nats. If Nats games were broadcast, I'd cut the cord today.

Not so much help the Nats as screw Selig the same way he's screwing the Nats

[GburgNatsFan]

Not so much help the Nats as screw Selig the same way he's screwing the Nats

Iwss never good at strategery.

[NatsDad14]

How long has this saga been going on?