While nothing is official yet, it appears the Washington Nationals are preparing to part ways with MASN in favor of joining MLB’s production arm.
According to a report by Stephen G. Mears of the TalkNats blog, the Nationals will not enter into a new deal with MASN, the regional sports network that has aired its games since the team moved from Montreal in 2005. Instead, the team is looking towards joining the six other MLB clubs currently under the league’s production outfit when its MASN contract expires in February.
Such an arrangement would see Nationals games produced and distributed by MLB, which, beginning this upcoming season, means in-market streaming distribution through ESPN’s new app. The six teams currently under the league’s local broadcast umbrella are the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies.
Should the Nationals move forward with plans to join the league’s production outfit, the team will likely strike agreements directly with D.C.-area cable and satellite distributors to secure linear distribution, as the other teams under MLB’s purview have done. Select games could also end up on an over-the-air partner.
To say the Nationals’ two-decade-long relationship with MASN has been fraught would be an understatement. Decades of lawsuits between the club and the Baltimore Orioles-controlled regional sports network over ownership stakes and rights payments have left the Nationals in one of the worst local broadcast situations in all of MLB. For the first time since relocation, the team will have full control over its local broadcasts.
Prior to Friday’s reporting, many speculated that Monumental Sports Network, the regional sports network owned and operated by Ted Leonsis and the Washington Wizards and Capitals, would be a prime candidate to secure Nationals rights. And while it’s too early to definitively rule that out, given that nothing will be officially decided until next month, when the MASN contract expires, signs point towards the Nationals joining MLB’s cohort of teams.
If that’s in fact the case, the Nationals might not be alone. By next month, the fate of Main Street Sports Group, the owner of the FanDuel Sports Network channels, will also be decided. Should a potential sale to London-based streaming service DAZN not pan out, nine MLB clubs currently under contract with Main Street would also be in the market for a new local broadcast solution. Some or all of those teams could also wind up under MLB control this season.