Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals, has acquired full control of regional TV network NBC Sports Washington.Founded by former AOL exec Ted Leonsis, Monumental has owned 33% of NBC Sports Washington since 2016.
It bought the rest from NBCUniversal parent Comcast, which also owns six other RSNs in various U.S. markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.As part of the transaction, NBCU will continue to help run the network, providing corporate and shared services such as distribution, technical resources and production facilities for up to 18 months.
The Washington network, which has exclusive rights to Wizards and Capitals games, is part of the NBC Sports Regional Networks division of NBCUniversal Local.As streaming has gained traction and the pay-TV bundle has shrunk at an accelerating pace, the traditional RSN model has come under significant pressure.
Born during the go-go cable TV era of the 1990s and 2000s, the networks exploded in popularity and threw off massive amounts of revenue both from carriage fees and advertising.
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