Author Topic: WP: Nats MASN deal renegotations will have a huge impact  (Read 203535 times)

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Offline R-Zim#11

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Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/nationals-negotiations-with-masn-will-have-huge-impact-on-franchise/2012/01/18/gIQA26VD9P_story.html

Quote
When the Lerner family bought the Washington Nationals from Major League Baseball in 2006, the team came with a unique television contract, one that intertwined them with Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. To persuade Angelos to drop his firm stance against a team in Washington, the league struck a TV deal in which Angelos held the advantage.

Television contracts and the money generated from media rights fees have become a crucial factor in how baseball teams are run. Along with ticket sales, they are a team’s primary form of income, and in recent years the fees across sports have skyrocketed. The Lerners have never had a say on their arrangement with MASN.

Until Now.

Reading this article makes me hate Angelos even more. This could really change the way the Nats do business...

Offline MarquisDeSade

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Offline OldChelsea

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I'm not expecting much...Angelos will just dig in his heels and nothing will change.

It has to be remembered why the Lords of Baseball agreed to such a one-sided deal in the first place - the threat of Angelos suing and forcing the owners to open their books (something he, of course, wouldn't have to do since law firms don't have to open their books - they're an unregulated industry). It's a 'nuclear option' he could still pursue, the threat of which could result in pressure on Nationals ownership from the other owners and the commissioner's office to not pursue any telly-contract improvements.

Offline MarquisDeSade

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I'm not expecting much...Angelos will just dig in his heels and nothing will change.

Well, the arbitrators have the final say on what "market value" is, but this is still those cheap ass misers the Lerners we're talking about.  If they expected to win this and have a windfall of TV money they would have made some better moves this offseason instead of letting a need (leadoff hitter) go to a division rival.

Offline The Chief

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bull crap, NO improvements? Lerners already own the team, doubt they care what bud or the other teams think now... esp if there are millions on the line :mg: :stir:

Offline Rasta

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If the contract is clear and it goes to an arbitrator that all sides have agreed on then Angelos will end up on the short end of the stick IMO.  He can threaten to sue all he wants but it sure seems like he's already a pariah among other owners.  Selig seems to have the owners in line and I just don't see Angelos going nuclear with a huge lawsuit. 

Offline MarquisDeSade

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bull crap, NO improvements? Lerners already own the team, doubt they care what bud or the other teams think now... esp if there are millions on the line :mg: :stir:

Huh?

Offline The Chief

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Offline imref

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i wonder how long before Angelos starts floating the idea of moving the Orioles out of Baltimore.  I'm guessing the team isn't very profitable anymore.

Offline OldChelsea

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bull crap, NO improvements? Lerners already own the team, doubt they care what bud or the other teams think now... esp if there are millions on the line :mg: :stir:

The thing about lawsuits, though, is that even if Angelos doesn't prevail on the merits he can, if he does get the court to force the owners to open their books, still get his pound of flesh (especially if the suit is filed in a Maryland court - he's still a powerful figure in the legal/political community there). In many cases when it comes to litigation...even if you lose, you win.

As I stated earlier, it was just the threat of such a lawsuit that got MLB to knuckle under in the first place on the MASN deal - and I'm sure Lerner is just as scared as any of the rest of them of an open-the-books order. He's just as threatened by the Angelos nuclear option as any of the other owners and he'll toe the party line on this.

Offline The Chief

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Well I disagree with your bleak outlook.  Guess we'll see what - if anything - happens.

Offline OldChelsea

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i wonder how long before Angelos starts floating the idea of moving the Orioles out of Baltimore.  I'm guessing the team isn't very profitable anymore.

Not sure about profit...one would think their finances wouldn't be all that dire though, given that besides their own local telly revenue they're getting most of ours, even though they just posted their fourth consecutive season of less than 2m attendance (longest such slump at the gate since they first hit that mark in 1983)...but it sure as heck isn't successful - with another losing season in 2012 they'll tie the American League record of 15 straight (currently shared by 1919-33 Red Sox and 1953-67 A's)...and if the Pirates ever start winning again the Woes can go after the all-time MLB record.

Offline HalfSmokes

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If the contract is clear and it goes to an arbitrator that all sides have agreed on then Angelos will end up on the short end of the stick IMO.  He can threaten to sue all he wants but it sure seems like he's already a pariah among other owners.  Selig seems to have the owners in line and I just don't see Angelos going nuclear with a huge lawsuit. 

It's not like the lerners shy away from litigation; angelos can bluster, but old teddy may be his match

Offline PowerBoater69

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Nothing new in this article that hasn't been discussed many times over.  And what is not addressed is the cause and effect relationship between the MASN deal and potential Fielder signing.  Kilgore indicates that the Fielder signing will help in the MASN negotiation, but that assumes that Lerner will sign a mega contract without having the MASN deal already in place. 

Offline comish4lif

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It's not like the lerners shy away from litigation; angelos can bluster, but old teddy may be his match

Old Man Lerner didn't get $3 billion by being a pushover. Ted's got plenty of lawyers on staff and I'm sure he's not afraid of Angelos.

Offline Tyler Durden

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It's like a heavyweight battle of terribleness.  At least Lerner has shown some signs of improvement.  Angelos still has his team buried in last place.

Offline Lintyfresh85

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The thing about lawsuits, though, is that even if Angelos doesn't prevail on the merits he can, if he does get the court to force the owners to open their books, still get his pound of flesh (especially if the suit is filed in a Maryland court - he's still a powerful figure in the legal/political community there). In many cases when it comes to litigation...even if you lose, you win.

As I stated earlier, it was just the threat of such a lawsuit that got MLB to knuckle under in the first place on the MASN deal - and I'm sure Lerner is just as scared as any of the rest of them of an open-the-books order. He's just as threatened by the Angelos nuclear option as any of the other owners and he'll toe the party line on this.

i wonder how long before Angelos starts floating the idea of moving the Orioles out of Baltimore.  I'm guessing the team isn't very profitable anymore.

I don't ever see this happening.

Isn't Angelos from the Baltimore area?

Offline OldChelsea

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I don't ever see this happening.

Isn't Angelos from the Baltimore area?

He was born in Pittsburgh in 1929; he attended University of Baltimore law school and spent his early practising years representing Baltimore trades unions, so his ties to the city probably go back to those times.


Offline Five Banners

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The thing about lawsuits, though, is that even if Angelos doesn't prevail on the merits he can, if he does get the court to force the owners to open their books, still get his pound of flesh (especially if the suit is filed in a Maryland court - he's still a powerful figure in the legal/political community there). In many cases when it comes to litigation...even if you lose, you win.

As I stated earlier, it was just the threat of such a lawsuit that got MLB to knuckle under in the first place on the MASN deal - and I'm sure Lerner is just as scared as any of the rest of them of an open-the-books order. He's just as threatened by the Angelos nuclear option as any of the other owners and he'll toe the party line on this.

Why would Lerner be just as scared?  If he's getting shortchanged in a deal and wants to make things right, he's got just as much leverage as Angelos ever had to file lawsuits and cause headaches.  Problem is, looks like Bud knows that's not Ted's way, which may be why he gave him the team at $450 million even when multiple bidders were already past the $600 million mark and rising. 

Offline comish4lif

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Why would Lerner be just as scared?  If he's getting screwed over in a deal and wants to make things right, he's got just as much leverage as Angelos ever had to file lawsuits and cause headaches.  Problem is, Bud knows that's not Ted's way, which is why he gave him the team at $450 million even when multiple bidders were already past the $600 million mark and rising. 


Bids over $600M? I don't remember that - can that be substantiated? Or is it a Mindfact(TM)?

Offline hammondsnats

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Lerner could be given 200 billion dollars as a gift and still I have a tough time believing he'll direct some of that cash on the team.

Offline PowerBoater69

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Bids over $600M? I don't remember that - can that be substantiated? Or is it a Mindfact(TM)?

MLB set the price at $450 million, so all bids were for the same amount, certainly they could have gotten more for the team in a bidding war, but they wanted to pick the ownership group based on financial stability and conservative nature.

Offline Five Banners

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MLB set the price at $450 million, so all bids were for the same amount, certainly they could have gotten more for the team in a bidding war, but they wanted to pick the ownership group based on financial stability and conservative nature.

Exactly; they accepted bids from eight ownership groups at the set price and then winnowed down the groups and eventually encouraged the Kasten/Lerner mating ritual/merger.  During the process, some groups let it leak that they were willing to bid more in hopes of getting good press and local support, but Bud followed his self-styled process to a tee.

Offline ernie0326

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Regardless, I just hate the fact that the Nats TV rights are under Angelos' thumb and will remain there for the forseeable future.  Crappy network primarily runs ESPN News all day and if not that, classic BALTIMORE games.  Yeah yeah, they have a contract to do Georgetown games and throw in a couple of "classic Nats games". That's ok but still, it's a BALTIMORE station and the Nats are a side show. They'll always be 2nd class citizens on MASN even though the Nats have playoff potential this year and years to come.

Offline PebbleBall

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To me, the idea that the Nats get second class treatment from MASN as far as programming goes has always been overblown.  Best I can tell it's an equally terrible product for the O's.