Corporate

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, CSN Mid-Atlantic Form Advanced Media Partnership

Bethesda, MD and Washington, D.C.

Long-term agreement extends CSN Mid-Atlantic’s exclusive media rights for Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards games.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) and CSN Mid-Atlantic, part of NBC Sports Group, today announced an advanced media partnership that extends CSN Mid-Atlantic’s exclusive media rights for the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards and features an investment by NBC Sports Group in Monumental Sports Network, MSE’s digital sports and entertainment platform. The agreement is pending NHL and NBA approval.

Through an innovative cross-equity and leadership structure, MSE becomes an equity partner in CSN Mid-Atlantic and receives representation on CSN Mid-Atlantic’s board of directors. CSN Mid-Atlantic – which has served as the teams’ regional television partner since its launch in 1984 – will continue to present live coverage of all non-nationally exclusive Capitals and Wizards regular-season and playoff games, as well as select preseason games, comprehensive gameday shows and expanded original content on established and emerging media platforms via television and live streaming.

As part of a venture capital investment, NBC Sports Group obtains an equity partnership in Monumental Sports Network, as well as representation on its board of directors. Monumental Sports Network will soon launch a subscription over-the-top (OTT), direct-to-consumer service offering live-streaming of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics and AFL’s Washington Valor games, as well as additional live events and games through soon-to-be-announced content partnerships.

"We are so happy that our longstanding partnership with CSN Mid-Atlantic will continue well into the future, offering Wizards and Caps fans a fantastic home entertainment experience, while providing Monumental Sports & Entertainment a stake in CSN Mid-Atlantic, all of which will better position our teams to compete and provide our fans with lifelong memories," said Ted Leonsis, founder, chairman, majority owner and CEO of MSE. "This is a really unique deal, reinforcing our position in the heart of the nation’s fastest-growing Super City and reflecting the power of our strategy as a multi-brand, multi-platform sports and entertainment media company. We’re especially pleased that by investing in our Monumental Sports Network, NBC Sports Group is embracing the future growth of OTT services that can exist and thrive in parallel with content offered by multichannel video programming distributors and other content distributors. This partnership extends possibilities for sports fans at home or on-the-go, whenever and wherever they choose to consume sports content."

MSE owns and operates Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C., as well as the Wizards, Capitals, Mystics and Valor, and is co-owner of aXiomatic, which has a controlling interest in global esports franchise Team Liquid. MSE also operates Kettler Capitals Iceplex and EagleBank Arena and is participating in Events DC’s development of St. Elizabeths East into an entertainment and sports community.

"Ted and his team at MSE share in our passion to super serve fans with compelling content surrounding the sports they love, both now and in the future," said David Preschlack, president, NBC Sports Regional Networks. "Our new relationship furthers our mission to explore innovative partnerships and offerings in the new media and OTT space as we strive to offer maximum value to our team partners, distributors, advertisers, and especially the fans."

In addition to the Capitals and Wizards, CSN Mid-Atlantic is the official sports network of the NFL’s Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens, and the region’s home for live ACC and CAA games. CSN Mid-Atlantic delivers more than 400 live games per year, along with Emmy Award-winning news, analysis and entertainment programming, to more than 4.5 million homes in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

"CSN Mid-Atlantic is dedicated to providing fans with the highest-quality, most comprehensive coverage of the Capitals and Wizards, and the new partnership with MSE will allow us to continue and expand on that in many new and exciting ways," said Rebecca Schulte, president of CSN Mid-Atlantic. "While enhancing our longtime position as a valuable asset for fans, affiliates and advertisers, we can also extend our collective reach through complementary platforms and content."

"At Monumental Sports Network, we’re especially thrilled to have NBC Sports Group become an equity partner, not only because of the way we now can work together, but also because of what their investment says about the potential of OTT platforms and live-event streaming," said Zach Leonsis, vice president and general manager of Monumental Sports Network. "We look forward to announcing new, exclusive sports and entertainment content in the weeks ahead, in addition to providing subscribers with the ability to stream Mystics and Valor games when our AFL team begins playing in 2017. Stay tuned for future announcements on the great programming we’ll offer exclusively."

About CSN Mid-Atlantic:
CSN Mid-Atlantic, part of NBC Sports Regional Networks, is the official sports network of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, NBA’s Washington Wizards, NFL’s Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens, ACC and CAA. CSN Mid-Atlantic – the leading multiplatform sports media organization serving the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia – delivers more than 400 live events per year, along with Emmy Award-winning news, analysis and entertainment programming, to more than 4.5 million homes. CSN Mid-Atlantic’s digital portfolio, highlighted by CSNmidatlantic.com, is the region’s top source for written, video and interactive sports content.

About Monumental Sports & Entertainment:
Monumental Sports & Entertainment, located in Washington, D.C., is one of the largest integrated sports and entertainment companies in the country with one of the most diverse partnership groups in all of sports. MSE owns and operates four professional sports teams: the AFL’s Washington Valor, NBA’s Washington Wizards, NHL’s Washington Capitals and WNBA’s Washington Mystics, and is co-owner of aXiomatic, which has controlling interest in global esports franchise Team Liquid. The group also owns and operates Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., which is annually ranked as one of the top venues in the world by industry publications Billboard, Pollstar and Venues Today. MSE also manages Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the state-of-the-art training facility for the Capitals and EagleBank Arena on George Mason University’s campus. The District of Columbia and Events DC are building a new sports and entertainment facility in Southeast D.C. on the St. Elizabeths East campus. The facility will feature a state-of-the art training facility for the Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics and will also include a 4,200-seat arena which will become the new home of the Washington Mystics. The facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2018. MSE also owns and operates Monumental Sports Network, a digital platform that covers the region’s sports and entertainment news. Relaunched in 2016, the digital platform extends its coverage capabilities to mobile and OTT streaming devices on Android, iOS, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire and Roku. Visit MonumentalSportsNetwork.com for more information.