WP: Nats MASN deal renegotations will have a huge impact

[spidernat]

Probably get better coverage as well. I would be all for that.

[mitlen]

What? CSN preferring the Nationals?  Absolutely.

It's a bigger market.  It would complete their menu of Washington pro sports teams and I assume they'd treat the Nationals as an asset rather than as a burden like MASN does.

I think MASN sees the Nats as more of a cash cow than a burden.   

[spidernat]

And that would probably mean no more Phil Wood and Mike Wallace, you know. And no more orioles bullcrap crossovers.

[mitlen]

And that would probably mean no more Phil Wood and Mike Wallace, you know. And no more orioles bullcrap crossovers.

Say what ?!?     No more Phil and Mike on Saturday mornings?    Probably replace them with Brian Mitchell and Chick.

[spidernat]

Think of it, that means no more Sal with his BiL'esque preening. 

[mitlen]

Think of it, that means no more Sal with his BiL'esque preening. 

Ya killin' me spider.   

Ya know, if I could read a transcript of the show ...  edited, it would probably be interesting and informative.

[MarquisDeSade]

I think MASN sees the Nats as more of a cash cow than a burden.   

Two channels and two carriage fees with next to no programming costs other than on-air personnel.  If I remember correctly I think they're collecting $3 for both channels in carriage fees each month so just one subscriber's annual fees pays Phil Wood's salary.

[stealyerbase]

F Masn, F Devil-O's. Pay the Nats their adjusted-to-current-market due or let them sell their TV rights to the highest bidder. Surely some of the money will be spent for the betterment of the team and organization. The Lerners are natives and they know from observation that in order to have a profitable DC sports franchise you must either field a winner or own the Redskins. And the sorry ass Redskins  removed seats from their stadium in favor of "Party Decks" and supposed sellouts.
  Winning sells seats in DC. Winning costs money. More money will help the Nats win. Winning Nats will sell more seats. Lather, rinse, repeat.

[GMUTrkstar]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/wp/2014/10/21/mlb-nationals-ask-court-to-uphold-panels-tv-rights-ruling-in-masn-dispute/

this doesn't appear to be posted anywhere yet.

Another good article http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2014/10/21/Media/MASN.aspx maybe we get a better look at things after the 12/15 hearing.

[NJ Ave]

The stupid part of this, from the Orioles perspective, is that in addition to screwing over the Nationals, they're also attempting to shield their TV rights dollars from MLB revenue sharing. Rights fees are subject to revenue sharing, "equity" payments are not.

So instead of compromising, they're probably going to end up with the panel's decision that leaves only 5% in "equity" and vastly increases the amount of MASN money they have to expose to revenue sharing.

I hope Angelos finally gets screwed.

[WhiteWhale]

I hope Angelos finally gets screwed.

A lot of this whole thing is way over my head other than I agree with the above, and that if we get more money we could increase payroll as Lerner has always stated that he doesn't have a problem spending money but he won't operate the Nationals in the red. Now, I know I just invited several pages of LAC but I do believe with more $ in, they will spend more.

[GburgNatsFan]

I hope it's mine. 

Two channels and two carriage fees with next to no programming costs other than on-air personnel.  If I remember correctly I think they're collecting $3 for both channels in carriage fees each month so just one subscriber's annual fees pays Phil Wood's salary.

[Baseball is Life]

Ya killin' me spider.   

Ya know, if I could read a transcript of the show ...  edited, it would probably be interesting and informative.

They have these things called DVRs that allow you to see what you want.

[Slateman]

Just face it, the Nats ain't getting any more money. If the Lerners want to win, they gotta dig in to their own pockets.

[Dave301]

Just face it, the Nats ain't getting any more money. If the Lerners want to win, they gotta dig in to their own pockets.

They need to get Angelos' hands out of their pockets first.

[PebbleBall]

Just face it, the Nats ain't getting any more money. If the Lerners want to win, they gotta dig in to their own pockets.

3 of the 4 LCS teams had lower payrolls than the Nats.  Having more tv money would be awesome, but money isn't holding the Nats back.

[Baseball is Life]

Think of it, that means no more Sal with his BiL'esque preening. 

Preen this.

[Dave301]

3 of the 4 LCS teams had lower payrolls than the Nats.  Having more tv money would be awesome, but money isn't holding the Nats back.

Having the most money possible at your disposal is always important. When was the last time the O's and Royals did anything? The Royals got hot at the right time, and the O's lucked out and got Cruz at a bargain for one season. Who knows what these two teams will do next year. The Cardinals are below the Nats, but had a higher payroll in 2013. Money doesn't automatically bring you a WS, but it's still important.

[MarquisDeSade]

Sure, just ask the Dodets how well that's worked out for them in the postseason. 

[Dave301]

Sure, just ask the Dodets how well that's worked out for them in the postseason.

You didn't understand my point.

[MarquisDeSade]

No, I understood it, you just missed mine which was the same as PebbleBall's.

[HalfSmokes]

3 of the 4 LCS teams had lower payrolls than the Nats.  Having more tv money would be awesome, but money isn't holding the Nats back.

You can get good without money, sustaining it is what becomes harder

[NJ Ave]

Money certainly makes it easier to keep your window open as long as possible and be less of a "boom and bust" franchise. The Rays had a decent run, but the near future might look a little brighter if they had kept and extended some of the guys they had to trade away.

I'm not an LAC guy, but I find disingenuous to include debt servicing when you're talking about whether you're running the team in the red or the black (which is how MLB does things). Debt servicing for this team could easily be $20+ million a year.

I think that MLB actually incentivizes teams to do this, since you you want to minimize revenue sharing by keeping operating profits down. However, that's just a choice on the Lerners part (anyone think they couldn't stroke a check and own the team free and clear with no debt payments?). It's not different that if they already owned the team free and clear, and decided to take a $350 million loan using the team as collateral and then cut payroll by $20 million to "service the debt".

[tomterp]

Money certainly makes it easier to keep your window open as long as possible and be less of a "boom and bust" franchise. The Rays had a decent run, but the near future might look a little brighter if they had kept and extended some of the guys they had to trade away.

I'm not an LAC guy, but I find disingenuous to include debt servicing when you're talking about whether you're running the team in the red or the black (which is how MLB does things). Debt servicing for this team could easily be $20+ million a year.

I think that MLB actually incentivizes teams to do this, since you you want to minimize revenue sharing by keeping operating profits down. However, that's just a choice on the Lerners part (anyone think they couldn't stroke a check and own the team free and clear with no debt payments?). It's not different that if they already owned the team free and clear, and decided to take a $350 million loan using the team as collateral and then cut payroll by $20 million to "service the debt".

Cash flow and Net Income are two different things.

Over the long haul cash flow is the far more important measurement, but the term "in the black" generally refers to positive net income.

[Mathguy]

Agree - let's see what happens when the Nats young players, brought up through the Nats farm system, start asking for big bucks and have to consider free agency

You can get good without money, sustaining it is what becomes harder