Baltimore Orioles fans in Southwest Virginia are used to watching their team on TV. But this season, many of them will strike out when they pick up their remote.

In past seasons, most O's games were televised by Comcast SportsNet, with the rest syndicated to other channels, including WDRL and WDBJ Digital. But this year, the Orioles have moved all their games to a cable channel it owns, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

MASN -- which also televises the Washington Nationals -- was added Thursday by Cox Communications, which serves Roanoke and part of Roanoke County. But the area's other cable companies don't carry MASN.

Some satellite TV customers are also out of luck. DirecTV carries MASN. Dish Network does not.

"We've been working hard with every cable and satellite provider that serves this seven-state region to try to get them to put MASN on," MASN spokesman Todd Webster said. "There are a handful of companies that are refusing to.

"We're frustrated by it. ... It's a terrific, new regional sports network and we have tried six ways to Sunday to get every cable and satellite provider to carry us, but some of them are still holding out. ... My advice to any cable customer ... is to call up the cable company and tell them they want to watch the Orioles."

The Orioles created MASN when Major League Baseball gave that club the TV rights to the Nationals as compensation for putting the Nationals in the Orioles' backyard. MASN began airing the Nationals in 2005, their inaugural season. The Orioles own 89 percent of MASN, with Major League Baseball owning the rest.

The Orioles' contract with CSN expired after last season, freeing the team to move its games to MASN. CSN unsuccessfully sued the Orioles.

Unlike such sports channels as ESPNU or NFL Network, MASN is requiring companies to put the channel on expanded basic cable.

MASN will air all Orioles games and all but one Nationals game, so it has added an overflow channel for when both teams are playing at the same time. MASN requires its outlets to also carry MASN2, which will carry 63 Orioles games and 62 Nationals games.

Cox added MASN last year for its Northern Virginia customers and is now adding it in other parts of the state, including this area. Local customers with expanded basic cable can see MASN on Channel 55.

Cox is only making MASN2 available in this area to its digital-cable customers. David Grabert, Cox's national public relations director, said MASN2 will be moved to expanded basic in this area next year.

With a push from the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast agreed to add MASN to its cable companies in the metropolitan Washington and Baltimore areas last September. This year, Comcast has also added MASN to its lineups in other parts of Virginia and Maryland, as well as in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia.

But while Comcast customers in Richmond, Culpeper, Manassas, Alexandria and other Virginia towns and cities will be able to see the Orioles, its customers in nine counties and four cities in Southwest Virginia are still without the channel. Comcast spokesperson Lisa Altman said her company's agreement with MASN doesn't require it to add the channel in this area "at this time."

"We recognize that there are fans of the Nationals and Orioles in Roanoke and the surrounding areas, and we're continuing to evaluate the launch of MASN in those areas," she said.

Webster said Comcast is "discriminating" against customers in this area.

Comcast customers in this area were previously served by Adelphia, which was taken over by Comcast last year. Altman said Comcast is still upgrading the channel capacity of the former Adelphia customers.

"This isn't something that happens overnight," she said. "We have to invest the money, we have to lay the fiber, we have to upgrade the plant, and then we're able to bring these advanced products and services to the area."

Altman said most Comcast outlets in Virginia that aren't getting MASN are former Adelphia outlets. But she said some Adelphia-turned-Comcast customers in the state do get MASN.

She said Comcast has been putting both MASN and MASN2 on expanded basic, which means Comcast must drop other channels or relocate them to digital due to limited capacity on expanded basic.

Cox and Comcast are among 13 cable providers that have deals with MASN. But Suddenlink Communications, which serves four counties and two cities in Southwest Virginia, is not among them.

Webster said Suddenlink hasn't returned MASN's phone calls. Stan Howell, Suddenlink marketing vice president for the Atlantic region, said MASN's expanded-basic demand and the need to find room for two MASN channels are problems.

"We don't have a lot of space to put anything new on," Howell said. "Whatever channel we move or drop, there is a group of customers who watch that channel, and they'll be unhappy.

"We understand that folks want baseball. ... I can't say we'll have it this year."

Citizens Cablevision, which serves five counties in this area, also doesn't have a deal with MASN.

"We haven't had any requests for it," Citizens marketing manager Robert Weeks said. "It's certainly something we can add if we needed to, but right now we don't have any plans to bring it on board."

MASN also isn't carried by Rapid Cable, which serves Alleghany County, nor by MediaOne Cable, which serves Bland County.

Dish Network spokesperson Francie Bauer would not comment on why Dish isn't adding MASN.

CSN had carried Orioles games since 1984, back when the channel was called Home Team Sports. CSN aired 90 O's games last year, with the rest going to the O's syndicated network. WDRL, which joined the O's network in 1995, broadcast about 30 games last year. WDBJ Digital, which joined the network in 2004, aired about 20 games last season.

There is no syndicated O's network this year, though one Baltimore TV station will simulcast 25 Orioles games.

Cox viewers will get their first look at a MASN game today when the channel airs an exhibition between the Orioles and Nationals.

Area viewers who aren't Cox or DirecTV customers will still be able to see the Orioles' season opener Monday night at Minnesota. That game will not only be carried by MASN but also by ESPN2