NBC Sports Washington to rebrand as Monumental Sports Network
NBC Sports Washington, the regional sports network that broadcasts Capitals, Wizards and Mystics games, will rebrand as Monumental Sports Network in September. Ted Leonsis’s Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which purchased NBCSW last year and owns the Capitals, Wizards and Mystics, announced the news Wednesday, along with early details of new team-focused programming and live broadcast enhancements coming this fall.
An interview series hosted by former ESPN reporter Rachel Nichols featuring local athletes and celebrities is among the original programming planned for Monumental Sports Network, which will adopt the name of the subscription-based streaming platform Monumental launched in 2016, debut a new logo and be available on the same broadcast channels across all providers as NBCSW.
Nichols, a Potomac, Md., native, was the Capitals beat reporter for The Washington Post from 1996 to 1999 before rising to stardom during two stints at ESPN. She left ESPN in January 2022 amid controversy stemming from a leaked recording of comments she made about diversity at the network. Nichols joined Showtime as a host and reporter in September after reaching a settlement with ESPN.
Advertisement
“She has great national presence and credibility, particularly in basketball, but she also has great familiarity across multiple other sports,” Zach Leonsis, president of media and new enterprises for Monumental, said in a recent video interview. “I think it’s an awesome opportunity for her to come home, in a sense. … I want our network to have a national look and feel, and I think Rachel really plays into that theme.”
Other new shows in the works include two weekly series offering behind-the-scenes looks at the Capitals and Wizards, hosted by NBCSW veterans Alexa Landestoy and Wes Hall, respectively. A new countdown-style show will rank some of the greatest moments, plays and athletes in Capitals and Wizards history. The network also plans to reach into the archives to broadcast full or condensed classic games, potentially with commentary from those who played in them.
The new programming will bolster a lineup that has relied heavily on infomercials to fill airspace outside of game coverage.
Advertisement
“When you tune in on a game day in the early afternoon, we want you to understand that something exciting is happening that night,” Leonsis said. “I joke with our staff that I don’t want to see air fryer ads around lunchtime on our network anymore. I want to see something valuable. I want to see something that delivers value to our fans and advertising partners.”
“By the Book,” a sports betting show that debuted on Monumental Sports Network in 2021 and now airs on NBCSW, will return for its third season. A live video stream of 106.7 the Fan’s “The Sports Junkies” weekday morning radio show will continue to air as it has since 2016, when Monumental acquired a one-third stake in NBCSW from Comcast.
Game broadcasts will have a different look and feel, too, including a new graphics package and a greater focus on advanced analytics. Sideline reporters will travel for all games, while players and coaches will be mic’d up throughout the season. The network will introduce new camera angles, including a point-of-view camera in the announcer’s booth and ice-level views for Capitals home games.
Advertisement
Monumental’s new production facility adjacent to Capital One Arena is scheduled to open around the new year. When it’s complete, the network will explore alternate feeds for Capitals and Wizards broadcasts, including one modeled after ESPN’s “Manningcast,” with a rotating cast of former players and on-air talent discussing the game.
Monumental has no plans to produce a football-focused show after the Washington Commanders failed to reach a deal with the network to continue pre- and postgame coverage of the team’s games, but the “Beltway Football” podcast hosted by JP Finlay, Mitch Tischler and Pete Hailey, who were responsible for the majority of NBCSW’s daily Commanders coverage, will continue under the Monumental umbrella. NBCSW’s website will continue to operate until the rebrand takes effect, when written and video content will migrate to a new version of Monumental Sports Network’s site.
Zach Leonsis, who has mentioned the company’s interest in creating a direct-to-consumer streaming option for Capitals and Wizards games that would give fans access to the broadcasts without requiring a cable subscription, said details of Monumental’s revamped digital experience will be announced at a later date. In the meantime, Monumental will launch an awareness campaign about the rebranding of its linear channel. The new (but familiar) name for the network was chosen from among a half-dozen finalists after surveys and focus groups with thousands of Capitals, Wizards and Mystics season ticket holders.
“We don’t want to surprise people and have them looking for NBC Sports Washington before the first Capitals preseason game,” Leonsis said.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeAcHyVaGlqZ52ku7a5xKermqRdqL2wvtOsZKedpKy8s7eMq5icoJWheq%2B1wqGmpatf