It’s the end of an error era as the Washington Nationals have officially split away from MASN after 21 years as TalkNats reported through a source two weeks ago. The team will now join Major League Baseball’s in-house structure with ESPN to produce and distribute their games as well as additional programming. They are officially the seventh team join the MLB regional sports network coverage.
Previously, MLB with ESPN had already agreed to broadcast for six MLB teams, specifically the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies, also acquiring http://MLB.TV and 30 exclusive weeknight games. MLB takes over the local streaming rights for these six teams whose regional sports networks were disrupted, integrating them with out-of-market games and national broadcasts for a comprehensive fan experience within the ESPN and MLB app. In-market, only the MLB app will be used for streaming.
TalkNats had previously broken the news that this had already happened after they informed MASN in the final week of December that they would not continue with MASN for the 2026 season. Awful Announcing, the Sports Business Journal, and others credited TalkNats in their reports. After our report, a local writer claimed the Nats were tied to MASN until the end of February — but today’s Press Release says the Nats will join MLB Media for its local games, beginning in February which is in time for Spring Training although the team said they were not ready to announce a Spring Training TV schedule at this time. Per a source, MASN has informed several employees on the MASN Nationals side that their positions are being terminated by the end of January.
As far as MASN goes, the Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich reports that the MASN2 programming will be dropped by the cable providers as the Orioles will only be shown on the singular MASN channel. Their TV future is very much in doubt going forward per our sources.
For nearly two-decades, the Nats endured acrimony, legal entanglements that cost the team millions in law firm fees in a fight with the Orioles-controlled Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Both sides finally reached a settlement last year and agreed to make 2024 as the final year of their contractual agreement that began in 2005 when the team relocated from Montreal. The 2025 season was for one year, but the Orioles made no secret about wanting the Nationals to stay on their network for 2026 and beyond.
Catie Griggs, President of Business Operations for the Baltimore Orioles, stated that as of mid-December, the two sides had not come to new terms on a MASN extension according to a Q&A with Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun.
Griggs said: “We worked together in a different way than we had been able to previously. At this point, we are waiting for [the Washington Nationals] to give us a final decision of where they will be next season.”
Sources told us that the Nationals had formally conveyed to the Orioles in the final week of December that they would not continue with the Orioles.
The new Nationals.TV will be available online, and with a set of cable and satellite providers to be announced at a later date.
“Today’s announcement represents a new chapter for Washington Nationals baseball. Partnering with MLB offers us several new opportunities that will greatly improve the on-air product, including technological enhancements, the ability to work more closely with our broadcasters, and create added opportunities for our valued corporate partners.”
— Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner said in a press release today
There are additional nine more teams who don’t have a home for their 2026 broadcasts after issues on the Main Street Sports operating as the FanDuel TV Network. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said last week that the league is ready to take on any or all of those Main Street Sports team into the in-house structure.
“Our focus, particularly given the point in the calendar, is to maximize the revenue that’s available to the clubs, whether that’s MLB Media or a third party,” Manfred said in response to a Front Office Sports question.
As mentioned, over half of MLB’s teams are going through similar changes for the 2026 season. The San Diego Padres had a head-start in their new deal with MLB and are now part of Padres.TV and will be bundled via MLB and ESPN’s new app for in-market streaming, with select games on national TV (ESPN, FOX, FS1) and free over-the-air (OTA) on CBS 8/CW on Saturdays, while out-of-market fans use MLB.TV, all part of MLB’s new media deals. The key is that ESPN is acquiring local rights, meaning Padres.TV might become an ESPN-linked service, but the familiar options of cable/satellite and MLB.TV for out-of-market will stay the same.
Any cable, dish, and streaming distributor that was paying MASN will not want to be paying the same amount without the Nationals coverage, and that might change the Orioles broadcasting given that they were splitting the overhead over two teams before — and now just one.
Could the Nats new producer bring the Nats in on an alternative network and get paid that same amount? Our source said it’s not that simple. Everything is a negotiation. Many thought the Nats would end up with Monumental Sports & Entertainment as their founder & CEO Ted Leonsis said many times that he wanted baseball on his network. But then he changed his tune and told the Washington Business Journal on April 3, 2025, that “How am I going to write [the Nationals] a big check? It’s not like the distributors are saying, ‘We’ll write you a bigger check.’ If I own the team, then it might make sense, right? Because we have a platform, and the big move is to go direct to consumer.”
This is a new beginning for the Nationals and their fans. More details will emerge. A source told us that the team would hire Alexa Datt for a role with the new broadcast. She is from Olney, Maryland and most recently with the St. Louis Cardinals broadcast team. Prior to that, she was on the MLB Network.
Datt is an unapologetic Nats fan who for years had posted herself in Nats gear with her family at games. Our source also told us that Kevin Frandsen and Dan Kolko will be involved with the new network once their contracts are signed.
There will be some other people who will be added to the broadcast team, and their hope is that they can produce additional programming about the team. Many on the MASN crew worked as independent contractors, and the Nats are using a consulting firm to hire additional people.
The thought here is that the Nats and MLB will market the games it produces in the region to local cable and satellite providers. They could create their own channel or partner up with an existing channel. With Spring Training games beginning at the end of February, there is about 45 days to go. The clock is moving fast on this. But sources tell us that behind-the-scenes, the Nats have been preparing for this to come. Streaming in the local DC market will be available soon to purchase on Nationals.TV and Nats.TV. Out-of-market fans can stream Nationals games like they did on the MLB app, and ESPN plans to have ways to buy into their app.
The team has also put up some Q&A to help with the transition. Nationals.TV in-market streaming packages can be purchased for the discounted rate of $99.99 per year or $19.99 per month. Subscriptions for the 2026 season will be available in February.
