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Whatever it's called, the network believes it's "on the side of the angels" in its dispute with Time Warner, said Webster, who continues to point to an arbitrator's January ruling that Time Warner had discriminated against MASN by not offering to put it on basic cable. Arbitrator Jerome Sussman noted that Time Warner's own News 14 Carolina was available on a basic tier. Sussman saw News 14 as a regional sports network because it carried Charlotte Bobcats basketball games.

But Sussman was removed as the arbitrator after speaking publicly about the case, and Time Warner has since closed a deal that will move Bobcats telecasts to Fox Sports Net South. In other words, the reason that News 14 could be called a regional sports network has been conveniently removed.

In a letter announcing Sussman's removal, Christopher Cole of the American Arbitration Association asked attorneys on both sides to agree on a replacement by Feb. 28. The Arbitration Association won't say whether another arbitrator has been chosen. Neither MASN nor Time Warner is saying whether any progress has been made, or how much either company stands to lose financially if it accepts the other side's offer.

A digital sports tier would give MASN about half of Time Warner's basic cable audience. Even though cable companies are typically willing to pay more per subscriber to a network on a digital tier, MASN has a strong financial incentive to reach a broader audience. More eyeballs also would mean more advertising revenue for MASN.

Time Warner doesn't want to eat the cost of simply adding MASN to basic cable, so it has argued that some of that cost would have to be passed on to customers, many of whom don't care much about a network featuring two baseball teams so far away. (MASN counters that more than 20,000 people have "signed" an online petition calling for Time Warner to add the network.)

John Mansell, a media analyst based in Great Falls, Va., said the distances to Baltimore and Washington, as well as each team's losing ways in recent years, put less pressure on Time Warner to make a deal.

"I mean, if these were really hot teams and the Time Warner systems were really close to D.C. or Baltimore, then it's conceivable they might be losing subscribers to DirecTV or Dish Network ... and that would put some pressure on [Time Warner]," Mansell said.

Actually, they are losing some, according to DirecTV. The satellite provider, which has trumpeted MASN in a three-month ad campaign aimed at Time Warner customers, credits the campaign for an increase in sales ranging from more than 3 percent to 14 percent in the Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh and Wilmington markets.

Despite their differences, Mansell expects Time Warner and MASN to settle eventually, with or without Major League Baseball's help.

"Almost all of these disputes end up being resolved within a couple years," he said.

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