The Leonsis family and Monumental Sports & Entertainment are “charging into this unsettled” regional sports media landscape by “spending hundreds of millions to buy regional sports network NBC Sports Washington, rebrand it as Monumental Sports and invest in a technological and production makeover,” according to Ben Strauss of the WASHINGTON POST. For decades, NBA, NHL and MLB teams have “sold their media rights to regional networks, which managed the production and distribution,” but that is “changing.” Monumental is now “more proactive.” When it acquired NBCSW last year, it “bought the existing TV contracts that came with it.” A source said that the Capitals and Wizards signed media rights extensions in 2016 “worth a combined” nearly $1B “over 15 years.” Monumental will “negotiate directly with cable companies,” hoping to secure “higher fees as the cable-TV universe shrinks and live sports help keep cable companies afloat.” Historically, teams have had “mixed success negotiating directly with cable companies.” In Monumental’s case, it “may be negotiating as its teams are struggling.” The Wizards’ TV ratings have been “among the worst in the NBA.” If Monumental does one day “struggle to negotiate deals with cable networks,” those revenue gaps will “need to be filled with creative advertising and by signing up streaming customers.” The company launched a direct-to-consumer streaming service this season and can “offer more to sponsors now, packaging sponsorships for broadcast, streaming and inside the arena.” Additionally, it can “do more with ticket activations on a broadcast" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/15).
