MASN, Comcast extend contract one month during carriage negotiations

Per the terms of their deal, the agreement between the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and Comcast was set to expire on February 29. While the two sides have yet to agree on a new contract, they extended the terms of the current one for one more month in the interim.

The change was noted by The Baltimore Banner, who noticed that the Xfinity site now says the MASN agreement ends in March when it previously said February. A spokesperson would not confirm any details regarding the deal to them.

The extension means that Xfinity cable customers can be sure they’ll still have access to Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals programming for another month. Chances are, the two sides will need to agree to a new deal before April 1 if fans want to be able to watch their favorite team once the 2024 Major League Baseball season starts.

Part of the delay may be related to the transfer of ownership of the Orioles from the Angelos family to David Rubenstein. While that deal was announced last month, MLB owners still need to give final approval. If the ownership change can be approved in March, that will allow the new ownership group to negotiate the new Comcast contract as the Orioles own a majority of MASN. Sources told The Baltimore Banner that “all major decisions concerning the team and network are on hold until new ownership is in place.”

MASN launched in 2005 and has had a carriage agreement with Comcast since 2006. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, MASN subscribers have declined from 5.6 million in 2018 to 3.3. million in 2023, in part because of a failed renewal of their deal with Charter, which owns Spectrum. All of this makes it all the more critical that MASN remains on Xfinity as part of a new deal.

[The Baltimore Banner]