Capitals and Wizards fans may need to find a new way to watch their favorite teams during the upcoming NHL and NBA seasons. Both YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV have dropped the regional sports network Monumental from their lineups. Contracts between the network and both streaming platforms expired on September 30.
“We are incredibly disappointed for our fans that YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV have chosen to drop Monumental Sports Network and leave DMV-area sports fans without access to Capitals, Wizards, Mystics, and other local games just as the Capitals and Wizards seasons are about to begin,” said Monumental Sports Network General Manager, Friday Abernethy, in a statement just after the midnight deadline.
Monumental was formerly known as NBC Sports Washington and was rebranded in 2023. The regional sports network is the home of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the G League’s Capital City Go-Go, the NBA 2K League’s Wizards District Gaming.
In the announcement early Wednesday morning, Monumental took aim at the pay TV and streaming industries, saying: “Unfortunately, this isn’t just about YouTube TV’s and Hulu’s disregard for D.C. sports fans. Their decisions to walk away reflect a troubling reality in the pay-TV industry: independent regional sports networks like Monumental are being squeezed out by large, multinational streaming companies using anti-competitive tactics. Hulu, owned by Disney, and YouTube TV, owned by Google, are following a similar pattern, sacrificing the interests of local communities while seeking to consolidate control over sports programming. These platforms simply do not value our fans or the role regional sports play in their communities.”
The network also called on YouTube and Hulu + Live TV to charge customers in the D.C area less now that they’re missing the channel.
Fan who want to make sure they don’t miss coverage of their local teams can still watch Monumental Sports Network directly at monumentalplus.com or through the Monumental+ app.