MASN is dead

[HalfSmokes]

YES is pretty much going to be worthless within a year or two, if it isn't already.   Comcast and Warner are spinning off their linear cable channels to take them off their balance sheet and RSNs are in worse shape than those, as only a few carriers are carrying them anymore.

Standalone Yankees streaming has a pretty low ceiling of revenue generation.  The Yankees will get more than most, but they still only average 300,000ish viewers, and there is no longer a good way to monetize that much past 50-100 million/year.

It's really just the Dodgers who are projected to keep raking in the local TV money for the foreseeable future.   They also have a ridiculous agreement that shields most of their local tv revenue from revenue sharing.   

300k is 270k more than the nats and you’re expecting them to be ok with equal payout. 300k largely concentrated in one very expensive city still has value to advertisers

[nfotiu]

300k is 270k more than the nats and you’re expecting them to be ok with equal payout. 300k largely concentrated in one very expensive city still has value to advertisers

It's more money, but not way more money, and pales in comparison to the Dodgers.   Optimistically, the Yankees could generate maybe 150 million/year in the post RSN world.  They give half that to revenue sharing anyway, so it's more like 75 million.   

An all games/shown everywhere TV package could generate something close to that per team and could better set the league up for the future.

It's not like they are giving up hundreds of millions, but more like 10s of millions.

[nfotiu]

Also, it wouldn't be hard to structure the deal to reward the teams with the highest overall viewership, which would benefit the Yankees and give incentive to teams to perform well.

[nfotiu]

https://awfulannouncing.com/local-networks/fanduel-sports-networks-miss-rights-payments-nba-teams.html

These RSNs have been on death's door for a while, but it seems like the end is probably here for real now.    That will add 9 teams to the ESPN package the Nats are reported to be part of, and will bring the total to at least 16 teams.  I wonder if the O's and any others jump aboard for next season.

It's pretty crazy to look back at the history of these Fox Sports nets.   They were valued at $20 billion when Disney acquired them from Fox in 2019.   The auction only brought in 10 billion, and now they are worth less than zero.

I wonder if any sports or TV execs regret the insatiable greed that led to the downfall of a very lucrative model?   No one seemed to have the foresight to price them at a more sustainable price to adjust to the growing options people have for TV.   And now they're all left scrambling to build something from scratch.

[IanRubbish]

I wonder if any sports or TV execs regret the insatiable greed that led to the downfall of a very lucrative model?   No one seemed to have the foresight to price them at a more sustainable price to adjust to the growing options people have for TV.   And now they're all left scrambling to build something from scratch.

That's an interesting question.  Dinosaur media companies thought sports would carry them, and kept pushing the cable companies on fees, and now they and the league have ended up with this bizarre model where you can't stream your local team.  Failing to keep up with the times is why Netflix is worth 2x Disney and pretty much runs Hollywood now even though its a Silicon Valley company. I think most of these old school execs are like Mike Rizzo, they just take their dino ways and retire, completely unable to deal with the modern world.

[HalfSmokes]

The tv execs have made out like bandits even as the ran their companies into the ground. I doubt many have regrets

[machpost]

I wonder if the O's and any others jump aboard for next season.

It's kind of hard to imagine that it would be worth keeping the lights on at MASN if their only product was the Orioles. It certainly wouldn't help them retain carriage deals with cable providers south of Maryland.

[tomterp]

Some of you old timers might remember Orioles games on Super TV*.  I have no idea what sort of arrangement they had, and I don't think they showed all games but it seemed novel at the time.  John Lowenstein had been an O's DH/OF, and after retirement was a color commentator and edgy for the era.  "Boy, he really hit the snot out of that one".

*Edit - may have been Home Team Sports, or some combination.

[Slateman]

I remember Home Team Sports. Channel 86 on the cable box

[tomterp]

I remember Home Team Sports. Channel 86 on the cable box

After I posted I did a little hunting around - Super TV existed in DC from 1981 - 1986 on Channel 50.  It broadcast a scrambled signal that required a decoder box to unscramble.  They carried 16 Orioles games a season, and for an additional fee you could get adult programming at night.  HTS put Super TV out of business essentially.

[blue911]

After I posted I did a little hunting around - Super TV existed in DC from 1981 - 1986 on Channel 50.  It broadcast a scrambled signal that required a decoder box to unscramble.  They carried 16 Orioles games a season, and for an additional fee you could get adult programming at night.  HTS put Super TV out of business essentially.

I showed Flash Gordon non-stop as I recall.

[imref]

I showed Flash Gordon non-stop as I recall.

And now Ted?

[imref]

per Klwoodsport, Nats games will be available on ESPN's app starting in 2027. Haven't seen any further details yet on potential local blackouts or what tier of service will be required to access.

[HalfSmokes]

So no streaming in 2026?

[imref]

So no streaming in 2026?

Per this: https://x.com/klwoodjr/status/2008955808378167507?s=20

MLB will handle games in 2026, then transition streaming to ESPN in 2027. The Nats aren't committed yet for 2026 but it appears likely that they will join the MLB.tv package.

Still not sure if that means local blackouts and another provider handling in-market broadcasts / streams.

[IanRubbish]

The tv execs have made out like bandits even as the ran their companies into the ground. I doubt many have regrets

Not sure about that, the RSNs they owned are worthless.  Had to sell at the right time, and many of the dinosaur TV execs didn't want to admit their time was up.  That definitely happened with the old school cable companies. 

[IanRubbish]

Still not sure if that means local blackouts and another provider handling in-market broadcasts / streams.

No local blackouts for mlb-produced games.  So assuming that Nats get on board with this for '26, you'll be able to watch them on mlb.tv without any blackout.

The concept of a service region is going to disappear, I remember Tyrannosaurus Angelos going on about his territory from "Pennsylvania to North Carolina", even though there weren't many O's fans south of Richmond.  Actual consumer choice, not arbitrary league mandate will ultimately determine who watches what.

The other thing that will end is the needless switching.  To watch the Giants I need to exit out of mlb.tv, and go into YouTubeTV to get NBC Sports BayArea, whether on my laptop or TV, just like you've had to do with MASN.  This type of move will still be a thing for 23 teams in '26, but could be gone soon.  Good to see baseball moving away from the old, creaky and impractical cable TV distribution model.

[machpost]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47551260/manfred-says-mlb-prepared-produce-distribute-local-broadcasts-fanduel-network-teams

This article mentions that the Nationals may be joining the teams whose broadcasts are produced by MLB, and that they are leaving MASN. First time I've seen this stated by someone other than a blogger.

[The Chief]

Basically what I've learned from watching this thread is that I'm gonna come here and ask you guys how to watch games come April

[blue911]

Basically what I've learned from watching this thread is that I'm gonna come here and ask you guys how to watch games come April

Do you mean what state of mind you should be in?

[Slateman]

Basically what I've learned from watching this thread is that I'm gonna come here and ask you guys how to watch games come April

https://www.audacy.com/thefandc

[The Chief]

Do you mean what state of mind you should be in?

alternating between these two seems about right, yeah?

https://www.audacy.com/thefandc

Well sure, I just meant what video feed to sync with it.

[PowerBoater69]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47551260/manfred-says-mlb-prepared-produce-distribute-local-broadcasts-fanduel-network-teams

This article mentions that the Nationals may be joining the teams whose broadcasts are produced by MLB, and that they are leaving MASN. First time I've seen this stated by someone other than a blogger.

That article didn't even mention their source for "possibly" the Nationals. That blogger is their source.

[Slateman]

alternating between these two seems about right, yeah?

Well sure, I just meant what video feed to sync with it.

Oh ... you dont want to watch this train wreck.

[PowerBoater69]

Here's a question I'd like to get answered. The Nats have an equity stake in MASN, they own about a quarter of the network. If they switch to another network I assume they still get a quarter of the profits. Sure MASN could increase the rights fees in order to lower profits, but teams pay 31% revenue sharing of rights fees to MLB. Would the Os rather give the Nats ~25% of their profits or MLB 31% of their rights fees?