Nationals End MASN Era, Ink Local TV Deal With MLB

The Washington Nationals are stepping into a new era of local TV broadcasting. They’re ending over a decade of legal battles with the Baltimore Orioles and finally cutting ties with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).

This move puts the Nationals directly under Major League Baseball’s local broadcast umbrella. It’s bound to change how fans in the region catch games and shakes up the Mid-Atlantic sports media scene in a big way.

Nationals Break Free From MASN

For the first time since the team landed in Washington, Nationals fans won’t have to depend on MASN for local game broadcasts. Starting after the 2025 season, games will air under the new Nationals.TV banner, in partnership with MLB.

This ends a long, expensive legal dispute with the Orioles that started back in 2012. MLB stepped in and freed the Nationals from their MASN contract, finally closing one of the longest-running broadcast rights sagas in pro sports.

Why MASN Existed in the First Place

MASN came about in 2005 when the Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C., and became the Nationals. To make up for what Baltimore saw as an intrusion on its territory, MLB handed the Orioles a supermajority stake in the network.

Right from the jump, Baltimore held most of the power. That lopsided setup sparked years of arguments over money and who got to call the shots on broadcasts.

A Deal That Was Always Uneven

Originally, the Orioles controlled 90% of MASN. The Nationals only had a 10% stake, and that came after they forked over $75 million to join the network.

The agreement put Washington inside what had been Baltimore’s exclusive broadcast territory since 1972. As the Nationals became contenders and even won a World Series, the fight over TV revenue just got louder.

Years of Litigation

What happened next was a marathon legal fight, with MLB arbitration panels, courtrooms, appeals, and endless delays. The whole mess turned into a warning sign for shared regional sports networks and teams with clashing interests.

What Nationals.TV Means for Fans

With the new setup, Nationals games will be available locally on:

This approach lines up with what a handful of other teams have already done. It should give fans more reliable ways to watch, no matter their platform of choice.

Joining a Growing MLB Trend

Washington becomes the seventh MLB team to team up directly with the league for local broadcasts. The list already includes:

With this model, teams get more say over production, scheduling, and digital distribution. That kind of control is a big deal in today’s media world.

A Shift in Mid-Atlantic Sports Media

The Nationals leaving MASN isn’t just a paperwork shuffle—it’s a sign of bigger changes in regional sports broadcasting. Now the team can shape its coverage, storytelling, and presentation to fit its own fans, which feels overdue.

For MLB, it’s another move toward bringing local broadcasts under one roof. That might be exactly what the league needs as old-school regional sports networks keep fading away.

Closing a Long Chapter With Baltimore

The Orioles and Nationals will always be neighbors, but this new agreement finally gets rid of a major headache. With the MASN partnership over, both teams can actually focus on the game instead of endless business squabbles.

After years of courtroom drama, the Nationals finally control their own television destiny.

Fans should see clearer access, better distribution, and maybe a more exciting way to watch Washington baseball. It feels like a new chapter, honestly—one that’s been a long time coming.

 
Here is the source article for this story: The Washington Nationals are finally leaving MASN and setting up a local TV deal with MLB