A Major League Baseball panel has reduced the media rights fees owed to the Washington Nationals by the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) by 20% for the final three years of the 2022-2026 agreement. The decision reflects challenges posed by the declining cable television market.

The MLB Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee determined the Nationals are entitled to approximately $320.5 million in rights fees for the five-year period. For 2022 and 2023, the team will receive $72.8 million annually, consistent with 2021 levels. However, fees will drop to $58.3 million per year from 2024 through 2026.

The committee, composed of MLB executives Mark Attanasio (Milwaukee Brewers), Richard Montfort (Colorado Rockies), and Tom Werner (Boston Red Sox), cited declining subscriber numbers and limited potential to raise per-subscriber rates as key factors in their decision. MASN is primarily controlled by the Baltimore Orioles.

“The RSDC stated in its 56-page decision that it was predictable MASN would seek, and the Nationals would accept, a reduction in rights fees for 2024-2026 to mitigate the risk of bankruptcy. A 20% reduction aligns with market expectations as of 2021.”

The Nationals’ average annual rights fees for the 2022-2026 period were valued at approximately $64.1 million, a decrease from $69.9 million during 2017-2021 (adjusted to $60.8 million due to the pandemic) but an increase from $59.4 million for 2012-2016.

“The parties acknowledge the industry’s deteriorating conditions and anticipate continued subscriber losses for MASN during the 2022-2026 period, though they disagree on the projected rate of decline,” the panel noted in its decision, which redacted many of the financial figures proposed by both sides.

This marks the third consecutive five-year period in which the Nationals and Orioles have brought their dispute to the Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee (RSDC). The decision became public after the Nationals filed a petition in New York Supreme Court to confirm the award, a move first reported by The Baltimore Sun.

Jonathan Schiller, counsel for the Orioles, and Patrick Curran, representing the Nationals, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Litigation over rights fees for the 2012-2016 period culminated in a 2019 decision by the Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee (RSDC), comprised of Milwaukee Brewers chairman Mark Attanasio, former Seattle Mariners president Kevin Mather, and Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro. The committee valued the fees at $296.8 million. After legal proceedings that reached the New York Court of Appeals, the parties reached a settlement in June 2023.

In a subsequent decision on November 8, 2023, the RSDC, now including Attanasio, Colorado Rockies chairman Richard Montfort, and Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, determined that the Nationals were owed approximately $304.1 million for the 2017-2021 period. This figure included a downward adjustment of nearly $45.5 million due to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The decision was later upheld by New York Supreme Court Justice Andrew Borrok in December 2023.

MASN was established in March 2005 following the relocation of the Montreal Expos to Washington, where they became the Nationals. The move ended Baltimore’s exclusive broadcast territory, which had been in place since 1972. As part of the agreement, the Orioles received a supermajority interest in MASN, initially holding 90%, while the Nationals secured a 10% stake through a $75 million payment.

Under the agreement between the teams, MASN’s rights payments to both clubs started at $20 million annually in 2005 and 2006, increasing to $25 million in 2007, with $1 million added each year through 2011. The Nationals’ ownership stake was set to grow by 1% annually beginning after the 2009 season, capped at 33%. The agreement also stipulated that any disputes would be resolved by the Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee (RSDC).