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When the Baltimore Ravens open the exhibition season Thursday at home against Carolina, the game will air on local over-the-air television as well as on ESPN.Where it won't air is on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, the Baltimore-based cable/satellite channel owned by the city's baseball team, the Orioles.
The two sides had put aside their natural rivalry long enough to forge a programming arrangement where the Ravens' preseason games and ancillary shows, including the weekly coaches show, aired on MASN since 2006.
However, the NFL team announced earlier this month that it would search for another outlet to carry its programming. The Ravens and MASN have publicly declared their split to be amicable, though neither side elaborated on the details.
However, WNST, a Baltimore area all-sports radio station, reported on its website this week that the parting was not friendly, and that Orioles owner Peter Angelos (pictured) got personally involved and insisted on negotiating directly with Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti.
The end of the arrangement means that the Ravens' preseason games and their weekly team programming will be unavailable around the country.
According to WNST, the Ravens wanted to continue the terms of their recent deal with MASN, where the channel provided a rights fee for pre- and post-game shows, the weekly coaches show and preseason games.
The radio station reported that the sides reached a verbal agreement in April -- with plans to sign a contract in late spring -- with the Ravens agreeing to better and additional signage for MASN in M&T Bank Stadium, as well as better fiber-optic wiring in the press rooms for improved quality production.
However, according to the station, Angelos, who has attracted a reputation in Baltimore for meddling with his baseball management, objected to having to pay a rights fee for programming if it wasn't all live.
MASN officials then went back to the Ravens with an offer with "a greatly reduced rights fee" as well as the ability to rerun Ravens programming without additionally compensating the team, which produces all of its preseason games and shows, WNST reported.
The Ravens reportedly did not get a response from MASN through the Independence Day holiday, which affected their ability to sell advertising and sponsorships during their shows.
By then, the station reported, Ravens officials were told that Angelos wanted to speak directly with Bisciotti, but the football team offered instead team president Dick Cass.
The Ravens reportedly made one last inquiry late last month and were not only told that MASN's offer would not change, but that Angelos insisted on speaking to Bisciotti. The Ravens' owner, according to WNST, did eventually call the Orioles' counterpart, but only to tell him that his staff had advised the team to pass.
The Ravens are left with less than savory options, including attempting to arrange a network of over-the-air stations outside the Baltimore area or to making a deal with Comcast Sports Net's Mid-Atlantic operation, which has increasingly turned its focus toward Washington area teams, including the Redskins.
WNST also broached the prospect that the Ravens could place their programming on a digital channel carried by their local broadcast rights holder.
Dan Graziano reports from Ravens camp on Joe Flacco, who looks like the key to Baltimore's hopes this season. Check out the video below.
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