One year after Monumental Sports and Entertainment reached a transition services agreement with NBC Sports, a pivotal transformation has taken place. Monumental Sports Network officially took the air on Wednesday morning, completing a rebrand associated with an ownership change to the Washington, D.C.-based regional sports network. Programming began with the premiere of Hometown with Rachel Nichols, a new show that started with an interview featuring Monumental Sports and Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Ted Leonsis. Joining Leonsis and Nichols in the interview was Zach Leonsis, the company’s president of media and new enterprises, commencing a new era of local sports content.
Programming on the network will include live game broadcasts of the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals and Washington Mystics, along with original shows tailored towards sports fans. The network is utilizing a new logo designed by brand agency HZ and will also feature a new weekend show, Beltway Football, hosted by 106.7 The Fan personality JP Finlay and journalist Mitch Tischler. Other new programming includes weekly behind-the-scenes series for the Capitals and Wizards, hosted by Alexa Landestoy and Wes Hall, respectively. Nichols’ program will air every Thursday at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST and formerly premiere in October, featuring local athletes and leaders such as Tom Wilson, Kyle Kuzma and Wes Unseld Jr.
“Since acquiring NBC Sports Washington one year ago to the day, we have spent every day since building what we believe will be the best local media experience for the greatest fans in all of sports,” Zach Leonsis said in a statement. “Our fans deserve the best experience possible, so we challenged ourselves to push every standard and deliver an extraordinary media platform. We’re excited to begin the network’s transformation this month with additional plans to unveil several significant upgrades throughout the course of the Capitals and Wizards regular seasons.”
Coverage of Capitals preseason hockey starts the new programming lineup and will feature the familiar, Emmy award-winning on-air team of Joe Benianti, Craig Laughlin, Alexa Landestoy and Alan May. The opener against the Buffalo Sabres takes place this Sunday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST.
Users have the ability to switch between camera angles and personalize their feeds through a new digital platform. Furthermore, sports data and betting analytics are also being implemented into the vertical and will also have a portfolio of original shows. The application is available to download on iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV and an upgrade for authenticated television viewers.
In a thread on X, formerly known as Twitter, Zach Leonsis acknowledged that most of Monumental Sports Network is operating independently from Comcast, but that efforts are still in place to completely move over all services. The company is in the process of constructing new production facilities, developing new features and building new offices.The new studio will be adjacent to Capital One Arena at Gallery Place and will feature two studios, two insert studios and five control rooms that allow for simultaneous production of live events.
“While the local media ecosystem continues to evolve, we seek to build the exemplar local media platform in all of sports,” Leonsis said. “The value of live sports rights continues to grow, which is why we are so confident in making these significant investments back into our local rights. We will do more with our live rights than ever before, upgrading the existing live experience and producing more programming to the benefit of our fans and business partners.”
The network will be engaging its first paid media campaign that will be disseminated on print, online and out-of-home boards in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia regions. Fans can also sign up for a digital newsletter that will be distributed three times per week complete with the latest programming and digital content from the network’s team.
