A New York Supreme Court judge upheld an MLB decision that "ordered MASN to pay" the Nationals approximately $100M in additional rights fees, according to Des Bieler of the WASHINGTON POST. Justice Joel Cohen "rejected a request from the Orioles to overturn a May ruling by a three-member panel of MLB’s revenue sharing committee" that the Nationals were owed $296.8M from MASN. That number reflected approximately $59M in annual TV rights fees from '12-16, whereas the network had disbursed $197.5M, as "proposed by the Orioles, for that period." Cohen also ruled that the Nationals were "entitled to interest, to be determined by a court-appointed officer," on the amount they had "not yet received" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/23). In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck writes the court's ruling "did not come as a surprise." There were reports in May that the arbiter had "made its decision in favor of the Nationals, but the ruling had been sealed until Thursday." MASN is "expected to exercise the 'reserve appeal' included in the original court ruling to send the case to the New York Court of Appeals." A source said that the Orioles "retained a right to appeal, but could not exercise it until the second arbitration process was complete" (BALTIMORE SUN, 8/23).
