Nats and Orioles settle long-running feud over MASN

• For fans, who've had limited ways to watch games — especially in the cord-cutting era — it may ultimately mean more viewing options.
• For the Lerner family, which owns the team, it means a new opportunity to sell the franchise without the MASN constraints attached.

Catch up fast: The MASN agreement locked the Nationals into a TV rights deal with Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which is controlled by the Orioles.

• MLB had struck the deal with the Orioles as a condition of the Nats moving into Baltimore's media and sports market in 2005.
• The Lerners long fretted they lost out on money that could've been spent to sign players.
• But former Orioles owner Peter Angelos stood firm.

Behind the scenes: After Angelos died last year, new Orioles owner David Rubenstein "took a more cooperative posture toward the Nationals," the Washington Post reported.

• Rubenstein is a Baltimore son. But the billionaire has deep civic roots in D.C., where he co-founded the investment firm Carlyle Group.

MLB announced the end of the MASN agreement Monday. Financial terms weren't disclosed, but decades-long legal claims have been dismissed.

What's next: MASN will keep airing Nats games for the 2025 season.

• The team can then sell its TV rights to the highest bidder.
• Ted Leonsis' Monumental Sports Network may be a front-runner. The owner of the Capitals and Wizards has been expanding his media operation and even made a bid to purchase the Nationals in 2022.