The long-lasting dispute between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals over the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network is coming to a close. According to an announcement from Major League Baseball, the Nationals will be free to pursue their own television deal for the 2026 season and beyond.
MASN will continue to broadcast games for the Nationals and Orioles in 2025, but after that, the league said Washington will be “free to explore alternatives for their television rights” going forward.
With it, all disputes related to past media rights have been resolved and litigation has been dismissed.
The two teams, which play their home games a mere 35 miles apart, have clashed over MASN for the bulk of the Nationals’ existence.
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When the Montreal Expos moved to Washington in 2005, they encroached upon the Orioles’ media market. As a consolation, the Nationals, Orioles and MLB came to a unique agreement: The Orioles would receive the vast majority of profits from MASN, which would air both teams’ games. At the time, television rights were particularly lucrative, setting up a substantial revenue stream for the Orioles, who were then owned by Peter Angelos.
Initially, the Orioles received 90% of the profits, while the Nationals received 10%, but the Orioles’ cut decreased by 1% per year. It was scheduled to eventually settle at a 67% to 33% breakdown.
The arrangement was almost immediately contentious, however, with the teams disagreeing on how much revenue each club should receive. For over a decade, the teams fought over revenue from the network in court.
The deal was expected to last indefinitely, but last year MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred hinted at a potential change. After a group led by David Rubenstein bought the Orioles from the Angelos family, Manfred told reporters of the agreement: “Change always produces an opportunity.”
In an MLB news release Monday, the Orioles and Nationals thanked Manfred and MLB for “their efforts in bringing this matter to a successful conclusion.”
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In a statement, Rubenstein, the Orioles owner and control person, said: “We are excited to have this longstanding issue resolved and look forward to the season ahead.”
This story will be updated.
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