Menu
Media

Court To Hold Hearing On MASN's Bid For Injunction Against Nats' Boosted Rights Fees

The New York State Supreme Court this morning held a hearing in Manhattan on MASN’s bid to gain a preliminary injunction against a June 30 MLB arbitration decision that would boost the Nationals’ annual TV rights fees from the RSN from about $41M to about $60M per year. MASN earlier this month gained a temporary restraining order keeping the decision from taking effect. MASN has argued the arbitration award is the result of a “corrupted and biased process” that also fails to honor the process laid out in an ’05 agreement between MLB and the Orioles, MASN’s majority owner, to set the Nationals’ right fees. The Nationals conversely, in filings with the court last week, said MASN’s petition was “a waste of judicial resources and an ongoing violation of Major League Baseball’s prohibition on litigation and the ('05 agreement).” MASN also filed with additional material with the court last week in advance of today’s hearing, arguing that if the MLB award for the Nationals is upheld, it would all but eliminate the network’s cash reserves. By terms of the ’05 settlement agreement, MASN must pay the Orioles the same as the Nationals. But the intent of that deal to help facilitate the Expos’ relocation to Washington was a structure that kept the majority equity share of the network with the Orioles in perpetuity. Documents filed with the court last week show that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig intended to hold a sanctions hearing on Aug. 6 with the Orioles and Nationals, advancing upon written threats he made recently to levy significant penalties on both clubs if the long-standing media rights rift between the two reached the courts. The Orioles, however, questioned Selig’s authority to levy sanctions and made known its intent to not appear, and the meeting was ultimately canceled (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).

WALKING A THIN LINE: In Baltimore, Jeff Barker reported MASN attorney Thomas Hall "told a judge the network's cash reserves would be nearly eliminated and its operating margin dangerously thin" if the June 30 decision stands. MASN indicated that boosting the rights fee "to the level mandated in the June 30 decision would strip away too much revenue." Hall during an Aug. 7 hearing said, "It would cut their cash reserves to virtually zero. It would cut their operating margins as thin as thin could be" (Baltimore SUN, 8/17).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2014/08/18/Media/MASN.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2014/08/18/Media/MASN.aspx

CLOSE