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MEDIA WATCHDOG: Washington, D.C. – Birdland

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If you’ve been watching Orioles games on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network this season, you’ve likely seen the nightly “This Is Birdland” feature after a commercial break. Essentially, the Orioles broadcasts show a few scenic highlights of a place where O’s fans are located. Some of the places include Annapolis, Towson, Westminster and recently, Washington D.C.

As you can imagine, that last one has rubbed some people the wrong way. The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg wrote this week that MASN was trolling Nats fans with such a bold proclamation during their broadcast. I’m not sure that I would go that far.

I don’t think the “This Is Birdland” campaign is particularly effective, but I understand what the Orioles are trying to do with it since MASN’s broadcasts reach so far in the Mid-Atlantic region. Believe it or not, there are Orioles fans in North Carolina, Delaware and Virginia. There are even some in D.C. that didn’t jump ship when the Expos came to our nation’s capital in 2005.

What’s the point of this campaign though? Do the Orioles or MASN really have anything to gain by doing something that could potentially frustrate Nationals fans, a large portion of their audience? Maybe this quick nightly feature says more about the future of the Orioles-Nationals television dispute than we all think.

When I see things like the “This Is Birdland” feature I can’t help but think back to Jonah Keri’s piece on Grantland.com about the Orioles and Nationals TV dispute saga. Here’s a snippet that particularly sticks out:

There’s no hope in hell of an easy compromise when the two sides are that far apart, and the Orioles have good reason to dig in their heels. Remember that while RSN rights fees are subject to revenue sharing, the money left after those rights fees have been paid out is not. Remember, too, that the O’s and Nats must make the same amount in rights fees every year. So if Washington succeeded in getting $100 million a year in rights fees, Baltimore would have to pay itself $100 million a year, too. That would force the Orioles to pay the 34 percent revenue-sharing tax on $100 million instead of on the current $29 million. It would also leave MASN broke.

Major League Baseball won’t continue to financially compensate the Nationals while Angelos and the O’s take advantage of the two-team regional sports network. When Bud Selig steps down at the end of the season (assuming he actually follows through with that promise) and new commissioner could shake things up between these two teams.

The Orioles know that, it’s part of the reason that they don’t spend like the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox or Phillies. Maybe the “This Is Birdland” campaign is a part of their strategy to grow their fanbase when they eventually lose the Nationals on their regional sports network. It wouldn’t be a bad idea; if that’s the case, they’ll need to dramatically increase their TV ratings to create the revenue they have had the pleasure of collecting from MASN with both the O’s and Nats being broadcasted.

Or maybe I’m just completely over-thinking this one. I’ll admit that is entirely possible in this scenario. But right now it makes sense for the Orioles to grow their fan base outside of Maryland, the days of the O’s and Nats on MASN are limited.

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