MLB - MASN - and the sale of the Nationals

I couldn't easily find any of the previous MASN dispute threads, so please move this if it's better to have it in a different thread 

The whole MASN drama used to be intriguing to me... now like 50 years later with still no settlement really... it's lost its luster. It will be nice when the Angelos owned franchise is the one being sold.

It will be nice when the Angelos owned franchise is the one being sold.

There's an angle to this whole thing that would undercut the financial resources of the Orioles.

It was mentioned in some other article, but if they agree to let the new Nationals Partnership Group buy out the MASN agreement in exchange for Orioles ownership transition, we will be stuck as a small market club with permanent Angelos ownership.

We are small market period. Regardless of anything else

We are small market period. Regardless of anything else

 

You are still wrong.  

 

Approach (from the team perspective) doesn't define your capacity.  They have the capacity to easily run in the 150-200M range.  That they don't (or the reasons they don't) have nothing to do with the capacity.

 

Bang on them if you want for not leveraging their market, but the market (today) isn't the limitation.

 

The Nationals have the minority share of the same market/region.  The Orioles could out-draw the Nationals if they were well run.  The Nationals have run 150-200M payrolls since about 2013/14.  They aren't committing 100M to the payroll that isn't available to them.  

 

The Orioles media region is the 4th largest behind NY, LA and Chicago.  Their Metro region drives them into revenue sharing (and Comp BAl picks), but that's not their market.  Their market is huge....and they are the only team in MLB that gets to feed off of the value of another team in their media market.  The Nationals don't need/want the Orioles, the Orioles desperately need the Nationals to protect them from their own incompetence. 

The Orioles media region is the 4th largest behind NY, LA and Chicago.  Their Metro region drives them into revenue sharing (and Comp BAl picks), but that's not their market.  Their market is huge....and they are the only team in MLB that gets to feed off of the value of another team in their media market.  The Nationals don't need/want the Orioles, the Orioles desperately need the Nationals to protect them from their own incompetence. 

 

And if, as expected, the Angelos' and MASN lose their suit against the Nats/MLB, and the broadcast rights fees jump significantly, expect the O's cut of revenue sharing to take a decline. Furthermore, I would imagine it's possible they may lose out on the competitive balance draft picks they've been getting.

 

As I understand, to be eligible for the CB picks you must be among the bottom 10 teams in either market size or revenues (and since some teams overlap those two categories, it's never a total of 20 picks). I presume the Orioles are always in there only because they are bottom 10 in revenues, and that when MLB says "market" size, it means each team's total TV market (for the O's, from south-central PA well into NC, and everywhere in between) and not restricted to the metro area of the team's home city. If that is correct, a huge bump in MASN payouts might boost the Orioles out of the bottom 10 in revenues and out of the CB picks. And that may be one more reason they are dragging it out in court.

And if, as expected, the Angelos' and MASN lose their suit against the Nats/MLB, and the broadcast rights fees jump significantly, expect the O's cut of revenue sharing to take a decline. Furthermore, I would imagine it's possible they may lose out on the competitive balance draft picks they've been getting.

 

As I understand, to be eligible for the CB picks you must be among the bottom 10 teams in either market size or revenues (and since some teams overlap those two categories, it's never a total of 20 picks). I presume the Orioles are always in there only because they are bottom 10 in revenues, and that when MLB says "market" size, it means each team's total TV market (for the O's, from south-central PA well into NC, and everywhere in between) and not restricted to the metro area of the team's home city. If that is correct, a huge bump in MASN payouts might boost the Orioles out of the bottom 10 in revenues and out of the CB picks. And that may be one more reason they are dragging it out in court.

 

I'm no expert on this, but I believe the Orioles qualify for revenue sharing (and Comp Bal) because of their Metro size, not the assigned MLB media territory.  Metro size would be more aligned with the pool you draw off of for attendance.

 

We (everyone) commonly excuses these rules with revenue generation in discussion of "market size"..  STL is also a Comp Bal team and we know they are a revenue generator.  

For those curious about how expansive each team’s media market is, here’s the map once more. I don’t know how many cable systems across the O’s/Nats territory carry MASN, but with two teams I’d wager it’s the lion’s share of them. And the Orioles currently own about 75% of MASN. Remember this over the winter as we read about the lowball offers the O’s make to starting pitchers.

Based on 2020 census...

 

Bottom 10 metro populations in MLB (in order, X.XXM)

 

MIL(1.57), CLE(2.09), KC(2.12), CIN(2.26), PIT(2.37), STL(2.82), BAL(2.84), COL(2.96), TB(3.17), SD(3.30)

 

The other 4 teams in CBA picks (which would qualify in bottom 10 revenue) would be

 

MIN, AZ, MIA, DET

MASN has always covered the 4th largest combined statistical area in the country, which is also home to a tremendous number of "highest median income" counties in the United States of Merica... the Orioles / Angelos failure to not monetize that reality to operate as a "much larger market" sized baseball franchise is fully their own responsibility / choosing. Really, ginormous population coverage combined with country best median household incomes. That's a dream scenario for generating revenue.

MASN has always covered the 4th largest combined statistical area in the country, which is also home to a tremendous number of "highest median income" counties in the United States of Merica... the Orioles / Angelos failure to not monetize that reality to operate as a "much larger market" sized baseball franchise is fully their own responsibility / choosing. Really, ginormous population coverage combined with country best median household incomes. That's a dream scenario for generating revenue.

 

Can we actually state that the Angelos' have failed to monetize it? Orioles money and MASN money are two separate pots. MASN profits, of which the Angelos' currently own about 75%, are not counted as part of the Orioles' revenues. Only the rights fee MASN pays the Orioles to broadcast games is counted...and the Angelos' are still mired in a years-long legal battle with the Nats and MLB to keep those rights fees lower.

 

It is entirely possible, if not very likely, that they have monetized MASN quite successfully, while the Orioles are simultaneously one of MLB's poorest teams.

Can we actually state that the Angelos' have failed to monetize it? Orioles money and MASN money are two separate pots. MASN profits, of which the Angelos' currently own about 75%, are not counted as part of the Orioles' revenues. Only the rights fee MASN pays the Orioles to broadcast games is counted...and the Angelos' are still mired in a years-long legal battle with the Nats and MLB to keep those rights fees lower.

 

It is entirely possible, if not very likely, that they have monetized MASN quite successfully, while the Orioles are simultaneously one of MLB's poorest teams.

I think this sums it up perfectly.