Sports TV News

Monumental Sports Network Launches DTC Offering

“Distributing our programming in new and additional ways is critical to our strategy of building the best local media platform in sports.”

Published

2 months ago

October 10, 2023

BSM Staff

Courtesy: Monumental Sports Network

Monumental Sports Network has announced a new, direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscription service for fans looking in watching live game broadcasts and other programming. Users can sign up to receive access to view Washington Mystics and Washington Wizards basketball, Washington Capitals hockey and other professional sports, in addition to other membership networks. Cable television subscribers can simply log in to the service to access the same benefits and will not need to purchase an additional membership. Those without a pay TV subscription can choose a monthly or annual membership, priced at $19.99 and $199.99 per year, respectively, and can use the app through various digital platforms.

The first game broadcast on the platform takes place on Tuesday, Oct. 10 when the Wizards face Cairns Taipans, a National Basketball League team emanating from Australia, starting at 7 p.m. EST. While the Mystics are currently in the offseason, the Capitals begin the 2023-24 campaign on Monumental Sports Network with a battle against the Calgary Flames on Monday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.

“We are delighted to make our network more accessible to fans without a Pay TV subscription by launching direct-to-consumer memberships,” Zach Leonsis, president of media and new enterprises at Monumental Sports & Entertainment, said in a statement. “Distributing our programming in new and additional ways is critical to our strategy of building the best local media platform in sports.”

This new digital platform grants fans additional viewing capabilities, including multiple camera angles during home games, rewind functionality and personalization features. Moreover, fans will be able to watch shows both live and on demand, along with receiving score alerts, news updates and a network newsletter. Annual memberships allow for fans to stream games on multiple devices, receive discounts on team merchandise, apparel and game tickets, and gain presale access to regular season and playoff matchups. The first 10,000 subscribers will also receive a limited-edition bobblehead set featuring Elena Delle Donne, Kyle Kuzma and Alexander Ovechkin.

Monumental Sports Network worked on the enhancements with ViewLift, which provides distribution solutions through multiple avenues of dissemination for over-the-top (OTT) platforms. Subscribers can tune in to the action on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV, all of which will have Sportradar integrations, an invariable user interface and the ability to link Ticketmaster accounts for a more facile aggregate process.

“We are excited to have built the Monumental Sports Network apps to enable fans of the Capitals, Wizards, and Mystics to watch all the live action and VoD content on desktop, mobile, tablet, and both Apple TV and Fire TV –with more platforms to come,” Rick Allen, chief executive officer of ViewLift, said in a statement. “Sports fans in the D.C. region are some of the most technologically sophisticated anywhere, and these Monumental streaming services continue the company’s leadership in super-serving that fanbase. We’ve been Monumental’s streaming partner for eight years and are particularly proud of this latest version of the Monumental Sports Network.”

Monumental Sports Network joins a handful of other regional sports networks – such as MSG Networks and NESN – in launching a direct-to-consumer offering ahead of the start of the hockey and basketball seasons. The platform rebranded from NBC Sports Washington last month, completing a transition after ownership of the outlet was acquired by Monumental Sports & Entertainment last September.

BSM Staff

Up Next

Barry Melrose Stepping Away from ESPN After Parkinson’s Diagnosis

Don't Miss

ESPN Films Producing Shohei Ohtani Documentary

Sports TV News

Scripps Sports Exec: Teams Are Making Contingency Deals For After Bally Sports Bankruptcy

Lawlor said that Scripps Sports “already has deals in place with at least a couple of teams as a contingency in case Bally halts broadcasts before the end of the 2024 season.”

Published

10 hours ago

November 30, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

With the writing on the wall that Diamond Sports Group will drop its regional sports contracts after next year, entities like Scripps Sports are bracing for additional opportunities to work with various teams.

Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor recently said teams and leagues are already thinking ahead.

“There’s a lot of contingency planning by teams and leagues to have distribution options if the creditors pull the rug out early,” Lawlor told Cincinnati Business Courier. “It’s really messy right now.”

Lawlor added that Scripps has already been involved in contingency planning with those leagues and teams, with talks having gone on for months in some instances.

“(Scripps) already has deals in place with at least a couple of teams as a contingency in case Bally halts broadcasts before the end of the 2024 season.

Scripps Sports already stepped in to help provide a new TV home for both the Vegas Golden Knights and the Arizona Coyotes. Lawlor said returns with those teams, particularly in Vegas, have been great.

“We’ve been blown away by the Golden Knights over-the-air ratings and the number of people who have subscribed to direct-to-consumer,” he said.

Jordan Bondurant

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.

Sports TV News

Bob Iger: ESPN Could ‘Go It Alone’ and Not Take Financial Partners

“We are fully prepared to do that. It would be a little more challenging if we did.”

Published

10 hours ago

November 30, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

Courtesy: CNBC

As Disney continues to consider selling an ownership stake in ESPN, Disney CEO Bob Iger told employees he’s not ruling out the possibility of not bringing in new financial partners.

Front Office Sports reported Wednesday that Iger spoke at a Disney town hall on Tuesday and there’s no requirement in place that says Disney must seek out new investors to maintain ESPN’s financial future.

“We could go it alone,” he said. “We are fully prepared to do that. It would be a little more challenging if we did.”

Disney has already had some level of conversations with potential partners including pro sports leagues and big tech companies.

Jordan Bondurant

Sports TV News

NASCAR to Announce $1.1B Rights Deal with FOX, NBC, Prime Video, TNT

The $1.1 billion figure represents a nearly 40% increase in what the organization receives from its current deals.

Published

17 hours ago

November 29, 2023

BSM Staff

A photo of the NASCAR Cup Series, FOX, Prime Video, TNT, and NBC Sports logos

NASCAR is on the verge of announcing a new TV rights deal that will see the racing organization bring in $1.1 billion annually from five TV partners.

The $1.1 billion figure represents a nearly 40% increase in what the organization receives from its current deals.

Beginning in 2025 and running through the 2031 season, NASCAR will air its first 14 Cup Series events with FOX and FS1. The next five events will air on Amazon Prime Video, making the first time a NASCAR event will be shown exclusively on a streaming service.

Following Amazon’s portion of the schedule, another five events will be broadcast on both TNT and the B/R Sports tier of the Max streaming service. The final 14 races of the year will be broadcast with NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, according to reporting from Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern.

Previously, FOX Sports aired 18 races, while NBC aired 20, which includes two exhibition events.

In addition to its new deals with Amazon Prime Video and TNT for the Cup Series, NASCAR also has a previously announced new broadcast agreement with The CW to air each race of the Xfinity Series.

The upcoming announcement, which is expected either Wednesday or Thursday, comes on the heels of NASCAR President Steve Phelps admitting new TV partners would be entering the fray in the next contract.

“We are going to have an additional partner and we may have two additional partners,” Phelps told NBC Sports. “That’s kind of where we’re trying to figure out in these last few weeks — what that’s going to look like, but we already know we’re going to have more partners.”

BSM Staff