Monumental Sports & Entertainment (“MSE”) and Comcast Corporation today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which MSE will acquire 100% of the equity interests in NBC Sports Washington by acquiring NBCUniversal’s 67% stake in the network. MSE currently owns 33% of NBC Sports Washington, which it acquired in 2016.
NBC Sports Washington is the exclusive local television rightsholder for Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals games. The network is available throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, as well as parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. Launched as Home Team Sports in April 1984, the network has served as the NHL’s Capitals and NBA’s Wizards regional TV partner since the network’s inception.
“We at Monumental Sports & Entertainment are incredibly excited to have reached an agreement to acquire NBC Sports Washington, an important business for our current and future core business operations,” said Zach Leonsis, President of Media & New Enterprises, Monumental Sports & Entertainment. “Comcast NBCUniversal has built a strong regional sports network in NBC Sports Washington. We look forward to further enhancing and innovating on the already best-in-class experience that our fanbase enjoys of watching live sports, for years to come.”
As part of the transaction, NBCUniversal will continue to assist in the operation of the network by providing corporate and shared services, including distribution, technical resources and production facilities, for up to 18 months. NBC Sports Regional Networks, part of NBCUniversal Local, operates a portfolio of six regional sports networks.
“Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s interest in full ownership of the network is a unique opportunity,” said Bill Bridgen, President, NBC Sports Regional Networks. “Their leaders have been engaged and collaborative partners in NBC Sports Washington who, like us, value local sports media and are committed to serving fans now and investing in the future. We look forward to continuing our work with them during the transition to support the network’s continued growth and success.”
MSE’s platform encompasses five professional sports teams: the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go and the NBA 2K League’s Wizards District Gaming. In addition, MSE owns and operates Capital One Arena and manages the MedStar Capitals Iceplex (practice facility for the Capitals), MedStar Health Performance Center (practice facility for the Wizards, Mystics and Go-Go), and EagleBank Arena (live performance venue on the campus of George Mason University in Virginia). Further, MSE was a first mover in the sports betting space, opening with Caesars Entertainment the first ever in-arena retail location in North America at Capital One Arena in 2020. It also launched a first-of-its kind regional sports streaming service for local and high school sports and exclusive Capitals, Wizards and Mystics content with Monumental Sports Network in 2016. MSE’s broad media reach includes the social media channels of its sports teams and corporate properties – not only in English but also Japanese, Hebrew and Mandarin and coming soon in Spanish and Arabic – as well as native content web articles, video productions and streaming shows, radio broadcasts, podcasts, in-arena signage, and out-of-home video boards.
MSE’s acquisition of NBC Sports Washington is subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
