Suddenlink, MASN still in stalemate over placement
By Nate Summers
Even after a few years of mulling their respective positions, the two entities in control of who does and does not see East Carolina football games on television in Greenville are holding their ground.
A fundamental disagreement between local cable provider Suddenlink Communications and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network about where on the cable dial the regional sports network would be placed is what's keeping MASN off the air, and has been for some time.
MASN has lobbied support for making its network, which is owned by Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, available on Suddenlink's basic cable tier. Suddenlink wants MASN, but wants it to be placed on the company's expanded digital tier, where other sports networks like ESPN News, ESPNU and Versus are located.
Both sides stand by their vested interest in ECU and uphold the value of having a network like MASN — which includes ECU football and other regional college and pro sports in its programming — available to as many Greenville customers as possible, but neither side is willing to give an inch.
So for now, MASN is only available to satellite television subscribers in Greenville, and at the moment, there is no communication between the two groups.
“It would be in far fewer households on that tier,” said MASN spokesman Todd Webster of having his network on the digital sports tier, adding that it would require basic cable customers who wanted MASN to pay more if it were on the digital tier.
This season, the network will air a total of nine ECU football games, some live and some on tape delay, and MASN will also broadcast some ECU men's basketball games.
“That's what you get with a local sports network,” Webster said. “But Suddenlink has not yet come on board. We'd love to get in a room and discuss it with them.”
According to Suddenlink senior vice president of operations in North Carolina Phillip Ahlschlager, the cable company is on board, and is ready and willing to make MASN a part of its lineup, but only if the network lands on the same part of the dial with the other sports networks.
“Repeatedly, we have offered MASN a slot on the digital sports tier,” Ahlschlager said. “MASN continues to decline the offer.”
Ahlschlager said communication between the two sides has ceased for the time being, and because of the same fundamental difference.
According to Webster, networks like MASN that carry professional sports are normally on the lower basic tier, citing Fox Sports South as a local example. Webster estimated it would cost basic cable customers an extra $14 a month if they wanted MASN programming and didn't already have digital cable.
Webster said MASN's multi-state scope is very beneficial to ECU in terms of exposure and recruiting.
Ahlschlager said he thinks it's unfair to raise cable rates for all customers in order to accommodate a network like MASN on its basic tier, and also contends Suddenlink's current lineup will provide coverage of 10 ECU games this season through local affiliate WITN-7 along with ESPN networks and CBS College Sports.
“We remain available,” Ahlschlager said of the impasse.
