It appears the five year "reset" of the Washington Nationals MASN TV deal is upon us, and the Nats could be in line for a significant jump in the value of their local broadcast rights. Via Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner:
The Nationals are the Orioles' partners in MASN and have reached the five-year "reset" of their deal with the network. That means Washington, which gets around $29 million a year from MASN, is due for a adjustment according to market value. And that market value could mean double or even triple the current amount after the huge deals signed by some teams in the past year or so.
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Angelos and the Nationals are partners in the network -- but not equal ones. As part of the compensation for the Nationals moving into the region, the Orioles were given a 90 percent stake in the regional sports network, while the Nationals received a 10 percent stake. The Nationals currently own 13 percent of the network, and that will increase at about 1 percent a year until they reach their max, which is 33 percent.
Williams notes that several new television deals for worse teams in even smaller markets could help the Nationals cause (Washington, D.C. is the eight-largest TV market in the nation). The Houston Astros (10th largest market) just inked a new $1billion dollar deal with Comcast SportsNet Houston, and the San Diego Padres (28th largest market) are looking to form a new partnership with Fox Sports West.
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