MASN seeks hearts, eyes of 2 cities

The Baltimore Sun

From their offices in the Camden Yards warehouse, executives of the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network enjoy a quintessential Baltimore view. Perched on the fifth floor above Oriole Park's flag court, they can peer into the stadium and practically smell the grass.

But the fledgling network's officials aren't eager to publicize their Baltimore location. "It's not about where we're located, it's what's on the air," said MASN spokesman Todd Webster, who was reluctant to have a Sun photographer shoot pictures of the offices for this article.

It's not that MASN is ashamed to be in Baltimore. Rather, the network, preparing for its first season as the television home of the Orioles and Washington Nationals, is trying to counter the perception of many Washingtonians that it is a Baltimore-focused vehicle of the Orioles and their owner, Peter Angelos. "This is not a Baltimore network just because it is majority-owned by the Orioles," said Michael J. Haley, MASN's chief financial officer.

Showing it cares equally about Washington-area viewers is critical if MASN is to achieve its goal of becoming pre-eminent in regional sports. It faces competition from more established Comcast SportsNet, which emphasizes sports news and televises Washington Wizards and Capitals games. SportsNet is based in Bethesda but - like MASN - aims to appeal to fans in Baltimore as well as Washington.

Angelos said MASN, which simulcasts Baltimore radio shows and bills itself as the "official cable network" of the Ravens, will soon devote at least as much air time to Washington's sports as Baltimore's. The network, which began broadcasting sports around the clock over the summer, plans to televise at least 10 Georgetown men's basketball games this season and recently signed a deal to simulcast former Redskin John Riggins' weekday radio show. "Our purpose is to bring the two metropolitan regions together - not to divide them or to be partisan," Angelos said.

MASN, which says it has about 35 employees and is still hiring, is owned primarily by the Orioles. The Nationals have a minority stake that can grow to as much 33 percent over the next several decades.

Not an easy sell

The perception of MASN as an Angelos tool arose when the owner negotiated with Major League Baseball for the TV rights to Nationals games before the club's arrival in Washington before the 2005 season. Angelos had long argued that the region couldn't support two baseball teams. He says that winning TV rights to both the Orioles and Nationals was critical to ensuring the long-term viability of his club.

"That was the driving force - to save this franchise from competition introduced immediately in its backyard," Angelos said. Under the deal, MASN pays an annual fee - it will be $25 million in 2007 - to the Orioles and Nationals for the games.

Many Washington fans still need to be won over. Some remember the banner hanging at RFK Stadium at the Nationals' first game there in 2005. It was apparently the product of a fan still angry with Angelos for opposing a Washington team. "Dear Angelos. You Stink. Signed, Everyone," it said.

Eric Parker, a Nationals fan from Arlington, Va., said that since MASN "does have a Baltimore vibe to it, with the O's and the Ravens," he needs to be convinced that it won't shortchange the Nationals.

"What we have to wait and see on is what happens in 2007 when MASN carries both the O's and the Nats," said Parker, who worries that Nationals games could be bumped.

MASN officials say "MASN Plus" channels will be in place when the teams play simultaneously, assuring that neither teams' games will be dropped.

Many Nationals fans couldn't get MASN for most of last season because of a dispute between the network and Comcast over the cost of carrying the network.

"I guess it [MASN] is a product of Baltimore and Angelos in a way, but it's still new," said Don Plavnick of Arlington, Va., who helps run the Nats Fan Club. He said Washington fans hope the Nationals-Orioles broadcast mix will be "50-50."

One item MASN can't guarantee is high-definition broadcasts. Comcast SportsNet televised the Orioles in HD last season. "To transmit in HD, you have to get an HD channel. That's something we're talking about with the cable operators," said Jim Cuddihy, a MASN programming executive. Though its executive offices are in the warehouse, the network hasn't announced where its broadcast studios will be located.

With two teams, MASN enjoys an advantage over Comcast SportsNet, whose contract with the Orioles expired after last season.

The rival

"To lose baseball is a huge blow to a regional sports network," said John Mansell, a Northern Virginia-based sports and media analyst for Kagan Research. "Baseball is the anchor for any regional sports network. There is very little substitute programming of any real quality in the summertime."

But Mansell said SportsNet's survival is not in jeopardy, and SportsNet officials expressed optimism that the network can succeed in a changed environment.

"The decision they [the Orioles] made is not unlike the decision teams have made around the country," said Sam Schroeder, Comcast SportsNet's general manager for the Mid-Atlantic region. "Teams seem to feel the best thing they can do for themselves is to launch their own network."

Schroeder said it was premature to discuss summer programming. SportsNet has a relationship with Major League Soccer's D.C. United and the WNBA's Washington Mystics, which both play in the summer. It could also create more original programming and pick up shows from its sister SportsNet channels around the country.

Through its sports news programs, SportsNet believes it can offer fans something MASN lacks. News director Tim McHugh says he has 47 people available to gather and disseminate news and he has tried to shift some staff members' mind-sets. "When I arrived [in 2004], I asked how many people here considered themselves journalists, and I was alarmed at how few people did," McHugh said.

New emphasis

The staff moved into a new and larger newsroom six months ago in the same Bethesda office building. While the network is still sometimes criticized by local columnists for seeming too cozy with the Redskins, McHugh says "we're not a bunch of kids cheering." He says the staff has improved its news product, citing a recent profile on Darryl Hill, the Atlantic Coast Conference's first African-American football player with Maryland in the early 1960s.

MASN isn't planning any sports news programs. "To me, the value of the RSN [regional sports network] is the teams. My goal is to drive the attention of the viewers to the teams," Cuddihy said.

When it's not baseball season, MASN is often showing college basketball, including area teams such as Loyola and Coppin State. Unlike large programs, many such schools don't charge a fee for showing their games and are gratified simply to have the exposure. The cost of producing the games is typically shared by MASN and the school.

MASN says its baseball broadcasts will include liberal use of in-game "enhancements" such as wiring players for sound.

The benefit of the technology was displayed last season during an Orioles game in Kansas City when third-base coach Tom Trebelhorn wore a wireless microphone.

"There was a play at the plate, and no one in the ballpark or any of the booths knew what the ruling was," said MASN executive producer Chris Glass. "Well, Tom went down and spoke to the umpire, came out of the commercial break and the umpire basically explained everything to Tom and we caught it on the mike."

jeff.barker@baltsun.com

MASN highlights

Promises more than 300 live Orioles and Nationals games with 30-minute pre-game and post-game shows.

"Overflow" channels will permit fans to watch either team when they are playing simultaneously.

In-game enhancements to include players "wired for sound" and interviews with managers.

Jim Palmer returns as Orioles broadcaster and might be joined by Rick Dempsey.

No decision on whether games will be broadcast in high definition.

No local sports news programming planned, and no word on where broadcast studio will be located.

Tale of the tape

MASN

Owner -- Orioles (about 90 percent) and Washington Nationals (the rest)

Employees -- 35 and increasing

Best-known broadcaster -- Jim Palmer

Homes reached -- About 4.8 million

Current programming includes -- Nationals, college basketball, radio show simulcasts

Future programming includes -- Orioles games and John Riggins radio show

Did you know -- MASN says it airs various Ravens programming five nights a week during the season?

Comcast SportsNet

Owner -- Comcast

Employees -- 121

Best-known broadcaster -- Phil Chenier

Homes reached -- "More than 4.7 million"

Current programming includes -- Washington Wizards and Capitals, SportsNite

Future programming includes -- More "originally produced" shows

Did you know -- Chenier played for the Bullets while they were still in Baltimore and once scored 53 points in a game?

[Jeff Barker]

Copyright © 2021, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication | Place an Ad
72°