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MASN to broadcast 80 Nationals / Orioles games in HD this season
Say it ain't so! After what feels like ages of watching the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals in shoddy SD, its regional carrier has finally decided to slip into this decade and go HD. As we'd heard rumored just weeks ago, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network will indeed be beaming out 80 MLB games this season in high-definition: 40 for the Nats and 40 for the O's. More specifically, all six interleague games between the two aforementioned clubs will be in high-def as well as the Nationals' first game back after the opener. Unfortunately, 242 games between the duo will still be in SD, but at least we're making progress. Look for the complete schedule of HD games to surface "in the next two weeks."[Image courtesy of NastyNats]
MASN to offer up select Orioles / Nationals games in HD?
For fans of the Baltimore Orioles and / or Washington Nationals, things could be getting an awful lot clearer when you tune in to catch their games this season. After the Kansas City Royals found a way to get its games broadcast regionally in high-definition, the O's and Nats stood as the final two MLB clubs with a dedicated channel that only beamed out its games in SD. According to an e-mail reportedly forwarded from an employee of a "local cable company," MASN is indeed planning to finally ditch its pixelated ways and go HD. More specifically, the note states that customers that receive the channel will be able to catch "at least 60 MLB games in 1080i" during the 2008 season, and that those matchups would be split evenly between the Orioles and Nationals. When a MASN publicist was questioned about the apparent leak, he casually stated that the station was working with its cable and satellite operators on "providing some games in HD in 2008," but didn't go out of his way to outright confirm or deny the whispers. Sounds like positive news, but we aren't getting our hopes up (too high) quite yet.[Image courtesy of NastyNats, thanks Tom]
Arbitrator orders Time Warner Cable to carry MASN
It's been a nasty battle between Time Warner Cable and Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, with the latter even going so far as to buy airtime on local North Carolina radio stations pleading for consumers to prod the carrier until MASN appeared on its lineup. Thankfully for fans of the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals (among other squads), an FCC-appointed arbitrator has finally ordered TWC to carry the network after finding that it "deliberately discriminated" against the station. What has yet to be determined from the decision, however, is whether or not customers will be forced to pay extra to receive it, and more importantly, whether or not this presumably lucrative outcome will push MASN to finally make the leap to HD (if TWC doesn't appeal and win, that is). As it stands, the O's and Nats are two of only a few MLB teams with a home channel that doesn't air any of its games in high-definition, but if you're impetuously determined to see your Birds in HD, you could always find an empty seat (or ten) at Camden Yards. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Via The Wolf Web, image courtesy of Nasty Nats]
