Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is an American regional sports network owned by the Baltimore Orioles.[1] Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metropolitan areas.
MASN is available on approximately 23 cable and fiber optic television providers in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, eastern and central North Carolina, West Virginia, south central Pennsylvania and Delaware (on providers such as Comcast, Cox Communications, RCN, Mediacom, and Verizon Fios, covering an area stretching from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Charlotte, North Carolina); it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.
History
When the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, D.C., in 2004 to begin play as the Nationals in 2005, issues arose regarding television rights for the new franchise. The Orioles have had a sizable following in the Washington area since moving from St. Louis in 1954, and have claimed Washington as part of their home territory since the second Washington Senators franchise became the Texas Rangers in 1972. Since at least 1981, Major League Baseball had designated the Orioles' television territory as extending from Harrisburg to Charlotte. The Orioles agreed to share their home territory with the Nationals in return for the ability to air Nationals games on the Orioles' planned regional sports network, to be named the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Major League Baseball, which owned the Expos-Nationals franchise from 2002 to 2006, paid the Orioles $75 million for a 10% stake in MASN, with the Orioles maintaining a controlling interest of 90%. As part of the deal, the Nationals' stake in the network would increase by one percent per year to 33% over 23 years, at which point the increases would cease and ownership would be fixed at 67% Orioles and 33% Nationals. Under the arrangement, MASN paid the Nationals $20 million to broadcast their games in 2005, and were bound to renegotiate the amount they paid the Nationals based on the fair market value of the Nationals′ broadcast rights in 2012 and once every five years thereafter. With this settled, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network launched on April 4, 2005.[2]
The family of Lerner Enterprises founder Ted Lerner subsequently became part-owners in MASN after their purchase of the Washington Nationals in July 2006. The same month that the Lerners acquired minority interest in MASN, the network, which originally broadcast only during Orioles and Nationals games, converted into a 24-hour channel with an expanded roster of collegiate sports events and local and national programming. It has become a strong competitor to the area's dominant regional sports network, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, now known as Monumental Sports Network.
On March 3, 2025, the Orioles and Nationals reached a settlement to end the teams dispute over television rights fee payments. MASN, which is owned and operated by the Orioles but airs both teams games, pays rights fees to the Nationals. Through the settlement, the Nationals' agreement with the Orioles and MASN will end following the 2025 season.[3]
Programming
As a whole, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network televises more than 600 professional and NCAA Division I collegiate events annually.
Orioles and Nationals telecasts
The network carries live telecasts of all Orioles games that are not televised by a national broadcast or cable network, and produces the pre-game and post-game show O's Xtra, which bookend the game telecasts. When the Nationals were part of MASN, corresponding Nationals games and Nats Xtra shows were produced. As with all Major League Baseball broadcasts, MASN-produced games are available for streaming out of the teams' respective territories at MLB.tv, with local viewers able to watch highlights for a certain amount of time following the conclusion of each game.[4]
Because the Orioles and Nationals play many games at or around the same time of day, MASN operates a second network, MASN2, which serves as an overflow channel when there are scheduling conflicts. Every cable and satellite provider that receives MASN receives MASN2 as well. As of 2019, MASN scheduled each baseball team to play the same number of games on each network. According to MASN's website, the schedule for which team will play on which network on a given day is set before the season begins.[5]
Other services
MASN2
The network also had a companion channel, MASN2, that airs overflow games in order to accommodate both baseball teams' schedules.[5] The channel shut down on March 3, 2026, after the Washington Nationals left in favor of MLB Local Media.[12]
High definition
MASNHD is a high definition simulcast feed of MASN, which broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format. MASN announced that it would launch a full-time HD feed on September 16, 2008, and televise 200 Major League Baseball games in HD in 2009.[13] Since 2010, MASN and MASN2 have televised every Orioles game not aired on national television in high definition, and they have televised every Nationals game not aired on national television in high definition up to the end of the 2025 Nationals season.[14]
Controversies
Carriage controversies
Comcast
After the Orioles agreed to share their television territory with the Nationals, another controversy arose with television rights. Comcast Sports Net Mid-Atlantic, the Orioles' cable partner since 1984, dating back to its days as Home Team Sports (which until 2000, was formerly co-owned with WJZ-TV under Group W and later CBS) maintained a ten-year cable television contract to broadcast Orioles games through the 2006 season. When MASN announced plans to move Orioles broadcasts to MASN, CSN Mid-Atlantic (by then, a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast) sued the Orioles seeking enforcement of a clause in its contract with the team, which Comcast SportsNet claimed allowed them the exclusive right of first and last refusal on future television contracts. MASN and the Orioles, however, claimed that MASN is a trade name for TCR Sports Broadcasting Holding, which was established in 1996 to sell all of the Orioles television rights, which resulted in the sale of the ten-year deal to HTS. Because of this, the Orioles and MASN claimed to be simply bringing their rights in-house.
On July 27, 2005, after argument by Baltimore attorney Arnold M. Weiner, Montgomery County Circuit Judge Durke G. Thompson threw out Comcast's lawsuit, ruling that the clause in Comcast's contract with the Orioles had not been triggered.[15]
On-air staff
Current on-air staff
Orioles broadcasters
- Kevin Brown – main play-by-play announcer
- Scott Garceau – fill-in play-by-play (As of 2022, he is the main play-by-play announcer for the Orioles Radio Network)
- Geoff Arnold – fill-in play-by-play (As of 2022, he is the main play-by-play announcer for the Orioles Radio Network)
- Melanie Newman – fill-in play-by-play, main sideline reporter and fill-in O's Xtra host (As of 2022, she is the secondary play-by-play announcer for the Orioles radio network)
- Ben Wagner – fill-in play-by-play (As of 2024, he is the secondary play-by-play announcer for the Orioles radio network)
- Jim Palmer – main color commentator
- Ben McDonald – secondary color commentator and main O's Xtra analyst
- Dave Johnson – fill-in color commentator
External links
References
- About MASN retrieved February 18, 2026^
- MASN Trying To Lock Down A TV Deal For Nationals The Washington Post, April 28, 2005, retrieved November 4, 2025^
- Gabe Lacques. Nationals-Orioles MASN dispute settled, giving DC team options for franchise future