MASN seeking solution

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network is continuing efforts to hit the airwaves in parts of the Northern Shenandoah Valley that still don't receive the network.

Shentel Cable, which is the cable provider for Shenandoah County, currently does not carry the network.

Responding to an article in Thursday's edition of the Daily, MASN spokesman Todd Webster said the sports network "would love to be on Shentel Cable, just as we are carried by 24 other cable, satellite, and other fiber optic affiliates throughout Virginia and six other states."

MASN, which televises every available Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals game during the season -- as well as regional NCAA football and basketball -- has never been carried by Shentel due to an ongoing dispute over how the network would be carried by the cable company. MASN is seeking two channels on Shentel's analog expanded basic tier of programming, the same service offered by cable providers who do carry the network.

Shentel marketing director Cindy Rinker said the cable provider would like to add MASN to its expanded sports package on digital cable, citing the higher cost of adding the channel and limited bandwidth on its analog expanded basic tier as reasons for seeking that agreement. Shentel and MASN have been in negotiations since 2007.

"We sincerely hope that Shentel will offer the same local sports programming for their customers as other providers like DirecTV, Dish and Comcast offer to theirs," Webster said in a statement. "Our door is always open."

Daily Staff Report