The Washington Nationals contract has reportedly expired with no renewed terms agreed to, making the 2026 broadcast schedule a question mark
For the first time since moving from Montreal, the Washington Nationals will now have an opportunity to take their broadcasting rights to the open market in 2026. And after being forced to partner with MASN since 2005, it appears the organization will do exactly that with all signs pointing to a different network in year one of the Paul Toboni era.
"After 21 years with MASN, source tells us that their negotiations did not end in a new contract, and the #Nats are looking to move the Nats game broadcasting rights to a new network. A new contract could be signed shortly. The MASN contract ended on December 31, 2025," Talk Nats wrote on X late Thursday night.
Friday morning, Andrew Golden of the Washington Post clarified that the MASN contract with the Nationals is actually set to expire at the end of February, meaning there could be an additional window for a pivot. Meanwhile, Talk Nats reported that the Nationals are also "signing a deal with a new production company for the rights to broadcast games for the 2026 season."
It's become a growingly realistic possibility that the Nationals could seek new broadcasting after the uneven revenue split with the Orioles since arriving in Washington with 2026 marking the first time the organization is able to explore its options.
Talks of a renewed contract with MASN have continued dating back to last year with the Baltimore Sun pointing to talks about the Nationals' future on the network, though the Nationals have been publicly consistent about their spring statement pointing to the ability for the organization to move their broadcasting from the network dominated by the Orioles for much of the last two decades. That split dates back to the first days of MASN after the MLB agreed to let the Orioles receive an unequal and greater share of the profits due to giving up exclusive access. While MASN's value is heavily diminished should the Nationals follow through on taking their long rumored ambitions of exploring the TV market, where they land is now the biggest question mark with the existing contract expiring at the start of the New Year.
“National fans and Orioles fans have had a long history of knowing that they can find high-quality content on MASN,” MASN team president of baseball operations Catie Griggs told The Baltimore Sun last summer. “And so I think that’s something where that would be a part of the conversation. But ultimately, we understand that they have a number of things that they’re looking to optimize around for their organization, but also for their fans. And so we’ll have those conversations and see where it lands.”
A new network emerged as a possibility for the Nationals after Sports Business Journal reported that DAZN is "close to acquiring Main Street Sports Group, which holds local rights for 29 MLB, NBA & NHL teams."
Sources said DAZN will conceivably ask teams to accept reduced rights fees as part of the sale, with the idea their payouts will still be more lucrative than what teams can fetch through over-the-air packages or through MLB TV. Other sources said, even if multiple teams opt out due to lower right fees or other concerns, the sale to DAZN would likely be unaffected. But the caveat would be whether more than 10 of the 29 teams exit — which sources then believe might jeopardize the deal.
The Braves are the only other NL East team signed to the emerging network, though how sustainable it proves to be remains a question with the report also noting "the financial strain is already showing - Main Street missed a payment to the Cardinals in December."