Nats-Orioles Cable Dispute Set For Court on July 12

A New York judge set July 12 for oral arguments in the long-running dispute between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles over money from the cable channel they jointly own, according to an Associated Press report.

The AP report added that Washington wants Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen “to confirm an April 15 decision by Major League Baseball’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee awarding the Nationals $296.8 million from the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network for the team’s television rights for 2012-16.

“Baltimore asked Cohen to put the matter on hold until the New York Court of Appeals hears the Orioles’ challenge to a New York Supreme Court Appellate Division decision in 2017 that sent the dispute back to the RSDC for a rehearing.

“The RSDC’s original 2014 decision was thrown out by a New York court because a law firm representing the Nationals also had represented teams of RSDC members.

“MASN was established in March 2005 after the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington and became the Nationals, moving into what had been Baltimore’s exclusive broadcast territory since 1972. The teams share ownership but the Orioles have a controlling interest.”