Monumental Sports Network Celebrates First Season Since Relaunch

Independent media platform celebrates a multi award-winning first year and setting the standard for Regional Sports Networks nationwide

Washington, D.C. (June 28, 2024) -Monumental Sports Network(MNMT),the exclusive local media rights holder for the NHL's Washington Capitals, the NBA's Washington Wizards, and the WNBA's Washington Mystics, celebrates a season of transformational growth and technological innovation a year since announcingthe official rebrand of the network last June. 

Since Monumental Sports & Entertainment(MSE) took the bold approach to reinvest in its local media rights and acquired NBC Sports Washington in August 2022, the organization has aggressively built out its local, independent media platform. To start, the network focused on retaining and transitioning all NBC Sports Washington employees, building out an executive team with decades of media experience from organizations such as Disney, Univision, DirecTV, DaZN, and Discovery, creating new production infrastructure and systems, and reimagining the fan viewing experience and integrating never-before-seen enhancements.

After continuing to operate the network as NBC Sports Washington during the 2022-23 season, the past twelve months have been transformational for Monumental Sports Network. The network pursued an aggressive goal of combiningNBC Sports Washington's linear channel and MSE's existing digital assets into a state-of-the-art digitally focused media platform that lays a strong foundation for future success and sustained growth. 

"While our focus during the 2022-23 season was all about designing and developing toward the future while operating the existing day-to-day business of NBC Sports Washington, the focus of the 2023-24 season was on actually launching and implementing those new strategies to establish Monumental Sports Network as one of the most influential regional media platforms in the country," said Zach Leonsis, President of Media & New Enterprises at Monumental Sports & Entertainment. "Our uber-talented team worked tirelessly to upgrade the viewing experience for fans, leverage cutting-edge technology, and introduce brand new platforms for distributing our content. We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from fans all season and think the entire region will be excited by the new offerings we'll unveil in the fall."

Key highlights from the past year:

Viewership/Engagement

• During the 2023-24 season, live Capitals games on Monumental Sports Network outperformed competitor programming during the same timeslot on FS1 (99% of the time), ESPN2 (95%), TNT (70%), and ESPN (49%). (Source: Nielsen Media Research, 10/1/23 - 5/25/24, DC DMA Only, P2+ demo)

• For the Capitals regular season finale, Monumental Sports Network registeredits most watched single-game regular season broadcast since the network rebranded from NBC Sports Washington.

• Capitals playoff games on MNMT saw an 80% increase in linear HH viewership from the regular season. (Source: Nielsen Media Research, DC DMA, 10/16/23-4/28/24, HH demo)

• Live Wizardsgames on Monumental Sports Network outperformed competitor programming during the same timeslot on FS1 90% of the time, ESPN2 (82%), and TNT (61%). (Source: Nielsen Media Research, 10/1/23 - 5/25/24, DC DMA Only, P2+ demo)

• Local Mysticstv viewership (HH) in 2024 has more than doubled (up 107%) year-over-year through the first 10 games on Monumental Sports Network (Source: Nielsen Media Research, DC DMA, 5/19/23 - 6/11/24, HH demo).

• The team's game against the Chicago Sky on June 6 was Monumental Sports Network's most watched WNBA regular season broadcast in almost five years (9/6/2019; DAL/WAS) (Source: Nielsen Media Research, 9.6.2019 - 6.6.24, DC DMA Only, HH demo).

• Viewership on MNMT for the Hershey Bears rose dramatically during this year's championship series compared to last season's Calder Cup run - viewership for the 2024 Calder Cup Finals increased by 139% compared to the 2023 Finals. (Source: Nielsen Media Research, 5/25/23 - 6/24/24, DC DMA, HH demo).

• By the end of the 2023-24 seasons, Monumental Sports Network had surpassed the 200,000 app download mark with hundreds of thousands of additional users streaming video on web regularly. 

• Across all social platforms, the network saw more than 55 million total impressions and gained 470,000 social followers since launching the new digital platform in September.

Milestones

• Network Rebrand (June 2023): Monumental announceda revamped brand and fresh logo - the "Monumental M." The network also replaced all instances of the NBC Sports Washington brand and logo, and extended the rebrand to new on-air graphics, digital aesthetics, and more.

• MNMT Relaunch (September 2023): Station was rebranded and relaunchedas Monumental Sports Network with a new slate of programming, including an overhaul of the network's original programming lineup, multiple new in-game enhancements, and additional on-air talent.

• Direct-to-Consumer Launch (October 2023): For fans without a Pay TV subscription, Monumental Sports Network rolled outdirect-to-consumer (DTC) subscription memberships for viewers seeking to access Monumental Sports Network's live and on-demand programming.

• New Studio & Production Facility Opens (March 2024): The network unveileda brand-new multi-million-dollar home for the local media platform, including a best-in-class, two-story, SMPTE 2110 production facility and broadcast studios.

• Alternate Broadcasts (April 2024): MNMT debuteda slate of live alternate broadcasts for Washington Capitals and Wizards games with a rotation of hosts, analysts, and special guests.

Programming

• A critical part of the network's new mission was to acquire additional live rights that would allow MNMT to elevate a variety of local sports at different levels. Building a broad sense of community at all levels of athletics is a core value for MSE, and the versatility of the new network platform provides a unique vehicle to celebrate integral groups in the community like high schools, colleges, and HBCUs.

• In total, Monumental Sports Network aired more than 300 live games during the 2023-24 seasons, the most in network history.

• The revamped live programming lineup included:

• George Washington University, University of Richmond, and Towson University men's and women's college basketball games

• More than 20 games from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through a partnership with HBCUGo

• Live games of local partners like Washington Spirit(NWSL), Old Glory DC(Major League Rugby), Washington Freedom(Major League Rugby), and Annapolis Blues(NPSL)

• D.C.-area college football, college volleyball, high school basketball, and esports

• MNMT's high school basketball coverage included "Basketball Day in the DMV,"a showcase of exceptional basketball talent from across the D.C. region on Monumental's broadcast platform, including five local high school games in one day in January.

• Ahead of the season, the network's original programming was augmented by the addition of several new shows:

• Hometown with Rachel Nichols: D.C. sports fans got the chance to join award-winning journalist and sportscaster Rachel Nichols as she returned to her home of Washington, D.C. for an interview format series that features sports stars and celebrities.

• Weekly magazine style showsCaps Red Line and Beyond the Buzzer provided fans with a glimpse into all the best behind-the-scenes moments of the Capitals and Wizards seasons, while Mystics Courtsideprovides similar off-the-court content for Mystics fans during the WNBA season.

• Other programs include Commanders-focused Beltway Football, sports betting show By the Book, and District Countdown, a program which relives some of the most historic Capitals and Wizards moments.

Recognition

• Sports Business Journal (SBJ): In December, SBJ announcedMonumental Sports Network as the recipient of its "Best in Local Media" award for 2023, part of SBJ's "Year-End Awards."
• Cynopsis Sports Media Awards: In April, MNMT was awardedbest new show (Caps Red Line) and outstanding individual achievement in sports broadcasting (Alexa Landestoy) at the 2024 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards.
• Capital Emmy Awards: In June, MSE and MNMT receivedsix Capital Emmy Awards, including wins for shoulder programs like Mystics Pregame Liveand Capitals Pregame Liveand original programs like Hometown with Rachel Nicholsand Caps Red Line.

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About Monumental Sports Network
Monumental Sports Network is wholly owned and operated by Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE). The network holds exclusive local television media rights for the NHL's Washington Capitals, NBA's Washington Wizards and WNBA's Washington Mystics games. Monumental Sports Network is also the TV and digital home to the NBA G League's Capital City Go-Go and the NBA 2K League's Wizards District Gaming as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes content and original sports and entertainment programming. The network also broadcasts live NWSL and Major League Rugby matches, college football, men's and women's college basketball, college volleyball, and boys and girls high school basketball. The network boasts the most comprehensive regional high-school and regional collegiate Division II-and-under sports programming in the greater Washington D.C. metro area.  For more, visit: www.monumentalsportsnetwork.com. 

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