By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
Former editor of 4 TV magazines. Author of TV Dot Com.
TV Answer Man, do you know anything about Comcast dropping MASN in February? — Todd, Dunkirk, Maryland.
Todd, Comcast has carried MASN, the regional TV home of the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles, since August 2006. However, there appears to be a chance that the cable operator could lose MASN sometime this month due to a fight over fees.
Update: Comcast Signs New Deal With MASN
On Comcast’s Xfinity Programming Changes page for February, which was just posted, the cable service lists MASN and INSP as the two channels whose carriage agreements “have recently expired or may expire soon.”
“Once a channel contract expires, we no longer have the right to carry that channel and associated on-demand content on our platforms. Loss of broadcast stations listed here would include loss of the multicast signals, if any, associated with the stations,” the page states.
See more news and TV tech features at TVAnswerMan.com.
Comcast is one of the largest TV providers in the Washington D.C./Baltimore area, if not the largest. MASN’s removal would be a major blow to area baseball fans and possibly the financial stability of the regional sports channel. DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream, Verizon Fios, and Cox also carry MASN, but Comcast reaches more potential viewers than any other TV service in the area. (Charter dropped MASN in 2023.)
MASN, which has been involved in a long contract scrap with the Nationals over TV rights, could already be undergoing financial issues, as many other RSNs are. In addition, the Orioles, which own MASN, have just announced they are selling the team (and MASN) to a private equity firm. Operating MASN without Comcast in the Washington/Baltimore market would certainly diminish the channel’s value.
But before Nats and Orioles fans panic, it should be noted that Comcast’s Programming Changes page often includes viewer alerts for channels that are never removed. The page serves as a warning that a channel could be dropped, but that doesn’t mean it will be, or even there’s a likelihood that it will be removed.
However, it should also be noted that Comcast has demonstrated it’s less willing to pay a premium price for a regional sports channel since its last carriage agreement with MASN was signed in 2021. The cable operator lost MSG, the regional TV home of several New York area teams, in October 2021 due to a fee fight and it hasn’t carried Altitude, the home of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, since August 2019 because of a fee dispute.
In addition, Comcast has moved Root Sports and SportsNet Pittsburgh to more expensive programming packages, which reduces the company’s carriage fees as well as the number of viewers who can see the channels. The cable op could be seeking to move MASN to a higher tier as well. (In the Root Sports and SportsNet Pittsburgh markets, the RSN fee was reduced or eliminated for those who no longer had those channels in their package.)
The TV Answer Man this morning asked Comcast and MASN for a comment on the MASN contract situation and will report back here if we get more information.
Update: Comcast issued this statement this afternoon to The TV Answer Man:
“Our agreements with programmers expire from time to time. We are currently negotiating with MASN to reach a fair deal that makes sense for our customers before the current one expires.”
The TV Answer Man has learned that the current agreement will not expire until the end of February.
Until then, happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
