WP: Nats MASN deal renegotations will have a huge impact

[brianstash]

Can the Nat's (if they wanted to) start their own TV station?

Is there any historical articles about this? Did the Nat's try to start their own when the franchise started here or was that a no-go from MLB day 1?

[HalfSmokes]

The can start their own station, it just couldn’t air games because MASN owns their broadcast rights

[vernon337]

The can start their own station, it just couldn’t air games because MASN owns their broadcast rights

how long does the contract run?

[HalfSmokes]

how long does the contract run?

Forever - masn owns the rights

[nfotiu]

Until more RSN deals get signed (I doubt teams are stupid enough at the moment to sign new deals) providing fresh comps, I’m not sure fair market let’s MASN remain solvent- they botched their deals and the climate now is terrible for RSNs

If a deal is expiring, teams will need to sign new deals.   There is nothing to suggest things won't continue to get worse for quite some time.

[NJ Ave]

The MASN deal is what happens when a used car dealer has to negotiate against a trial lawyer.

[bluestreak]

Forever - masn owns the rights

Who negotiated this??

[Natsinpwc]

Who negotiated this??

MLB and Angelos.

[HalfSmokes]

Who negotiated this??

A commissioner who wanted to avoid litigation with an existing owner above all else, a mayor who just wanted a team and Angelos

[KnorrForYourMoney]

Page after page of this pointless bullcrap.

Gotta love WNFF.  If there's anything I can count on, it's the people here making me feel like the freaking Dos Equis guy compared their sorry asses.

[mitlen]

Folks come to WNFF for a pick me up for their lives?    Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee riste   

[UMDNats]

Page after page of this pointless bullcrap.

Gotta love WNFF.  If there's anything I can count on, it's the people here making me feel like the freaking Dos Equis guy compared their sorry asses.

dude the longest thread in wnff (still?) is arguing over adam dunn

[Five Banners]

"The Orioles have fought stubbornly to maintain the original MASN agreement, which was publicly lauded by MLB and Nationals officials as a good deal for both teams after it was signed 13 years ago."

What a convenient lack of context, as the Lerners or anyone else wouldn't have gotten the MLB-owned team at the bidding price set by conflict-ridden fixer Selig without signing on to it.

[Five Banners]

I don’t think the problem with Baltimore is the city per se. it’s not too small, but the team is hemmed in by Philly to the north, Pittsburg to the northwest, and DC to the south. That leaves ~1/2 Maryland for a natural fanbase and Maryland isn’t very big. That’s fine for football where you only have to fill 8 home games and tv money is shared, but it’s not enough for any other sport

They can market very easily to their state as well as central PA, which is closer to them than it is to Philly and even has commuters who head down I-83. They have enough of a market that this market which granted them permission to exist in 1954 shouldn't have to be a revenue hammock for them. Let them market themselves.

[Five Banners]

Who negotiated this??

Not exactly a negotiation, as the team that should have had a say in this was owned by MLB, but a lawsuit-averse owner-turned-commissioner creating a legal mess when an owner with no actual say over anything outside of Baltimore and the counties that touch it had the Post and Sun give him a fact-starved soapbox.

[MarquisDeSade]

Page after page of this pointless bullcrap.

Gotta love WNFF.  If there's anything I can count on, it's the people here making me feel like the freaking Dos Equis guy compared their sorry asses.

I love that the people that had their dicks hard over FAIR MARKET and the Lerners getting some absurd amount of money that would bankrupt Angelos are still holding strong.

[tomterp]

"The Orioles have fought stubbornly to maintain the original MASN agreement, which was publicly lauded by MLB and Nationals officials as a good deal for both teams after it was signed 13 years ago."

What a convenient lack of context, as the Lerners or anyone else wouldn't have gotten the MLB-owned team at the bidding price set by conflict-ridden fixer Selig without signing on to it.

It's a bullcrap comment (in quotes above) in that the Lerners are trying to ENFORCE the agreement, which requires MASN to pay the Nats fair market value for the rights as required by the agreement.

[MarquisDeSade]

It's a bullcrap comment (in quotes above) in that the Lerners are trying to ENFORCE the agreement, which requires MASN to pay the Nats fair market value for the rights as required by the agreement.

Same argument people made six years ago.

[tomterp]

Same argument people made six years ago.

And still not settled.  I don't like that Schmuck is kissing Angelos' ass by presenting it as a settled matter that the Nats are trying to abrogate the agreement.  When in fact they are seeking to get their full value out of it, first and foremost.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

And still not settled.  I don't like that Schmuck is kissing Angelos' ass by presenting it as a settled matter that the Nats are trying to abrogate the agreement.  When in fact they are seeking to get their full value out of it, first and foremost.

there's a reason he's known as Schmuck.

[comish4lif]

Nobody cares and this is never getting resolved.

I don't care, but I am interested.

And you are right, it's never getting resolved... until Angelos passes away.

[nfotiu]

When this topic started, there was a lot of talk about how the money was needed to be able to afford a payroll to be competitive.   From a fan's perspective, I think this has all become moot.   We have the third highest payroll in baseball, and whatever our ills our, it is not due to an owner not having tv money to spend.

With MLB owning local streaming rights, regional TV deals will become mostly irrelevant over the next 10 years, so this is not likely to be a long term issue anyway.   

It doesn't seem like this fight is going to have a material effect on the team's performance or how we watch the games.  All that's left is watching a couple billionaires spending a few million dollars on lawyers fighting over a few million dollars.

It does seem logical that Angelos received some compensation for a team moving into their market, so I don't really get the outrage over the original agreement.  That seems like the norm for all sports leagues.

[HalfSmokes]

In market local streaming is still with teams (I know as a fan of 1 of 8 teams that don't understand the interwebz and refuse to allow local streaming)

[spidernat]

It does seem logical that Angelos received some compensation for a team moving into their market,

[nfotiu]

In market local streaming is still with teams (I know as a fan of 1 of 8 teams that don't understand the interwebz and refuse to allow local streaming)

They have to get waivers from the mlb to allow it.  MLB maintains ownership of it and I suspect they will exercise those rights at some point to monetize it.