MASN, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which has televised a portion of the 162 regular-season games of both the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles in HD in recent years, said it plans to launch an HD overflow channel next spring.
The expansion to MASN2-HD would allow the network to televise virtually every Orioles and Nats game live in HD through the 2010 season, according to the Web site dcrtv.com.
The expansion of HD coverage comes at a time of struggle for both clubs, which have among the worst records in recent years in their respective leagues. The Nats are in the National League; the Orioles are in the American League. In fact, Washington reportedly has the lowest TV ratings of any Major League Baseball franchise.
MASN believes a majority of its cable and satellite affiliates technically will be able to carry the overflow HD channel next season in the network's seven-state region. In 2010, MASN2-HD will carry 130 live games — with another 190 on MASN-HD. (That sum of 320 HD games would appear to leave a total of only four games unaccounted for among both teams.)
