Nationals and Orioles Resolve Lengthy Dispute Over MASN TV Rights

The Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles have finally ended their prolonged legal battle over television rights, a dispute dating back to 2012. On Monday, Major League Baseball announced that the Nationals will be released from their current deal with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) after the upcoming season. Under a new one-year contract, Nationals games will still be broadcast by MASN in 2025. Following this term, the Nationals will be free to explore alternative options for their television rights starting from the 2026 season. This settlement resolves all previous media rights disputes between the Nationals, Orioles, and MASN, and will result in the dismissal of all related litigation.
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MASN was established in March 2005 when the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, becoming the Nationals, and moved into Baltimore's exclusive broadcast territory. The Orioles were initially given a 90% supermajority partnership interest in MASN, while Washington paid $75 million for an initial 10% stake. The agreement stipulated that the Nationals' equity would increase by 1% annually, with a cap of 33%. Over the years, various disputes arose regarding the network's rights payments, leading to multiple lawsuits and decisions by MLB's Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee. The most recent RSDC decision awarded the Nationals approximately $320.5 million for 2022-26, with rights fees adjusted due to the economic conditions of regional sports networks. With this settlement in place, both teams can now move forward without the cloud of ongoing litigation.