Ted Leonsis Launching Digital Sports Outlet Monumental Network

Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chair Ted Leonsis will launch a full-fledged digital network this week in what is the "first step toward setting up his own local TV channel." Monumental Network will feature programming related to the teams and DC-area arenas operated by Leonsis’ company, including the Capitals, Wizards, WNBA Mystics and Verizon Center. It will be housed at MonumentalNetwork.com and "eventually will grow to include more than 20 affiliated websites" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/21 issue).

Leonsis said the site is "a precursor to a much bigger media play for us. The long-range goal is to own our own means of distribution. The most successful sports teams right now are successful because they own their own regional sports networks." Leonsis hired Perfect Sense, a company run by his former AOL colleague David Gang, to build the Monumental Network site (WASHINGTON POST, 1/21).