Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the company which owns the Washington Mystics, has released Monumental Network, which is a digital media platform for fans of Monumental Sports' teams which also include the Capitals NHL and Wizards NBA teams.
Monumental Network will feature digital based shows which will show more in-house content featuring the teams, as well as official blogs for the teams, and the Mystics' one can be found here.
Monumental Sports' majority owner Ted Leonsis is an investor in SB Nation, and does follow blogs on the SBN network regularly. No surprise, that there is a section where users can find SBN content, including a link to our site as well as Bullets Forever and Japers' Rink, the Wizards and Capitals' SB Nation blogs respectively. To see all the blogs officially on or linked to Monumental Network, including Ted's Take, his personal blog, click here.
Of all 12 WNBA teams' owners, Ted Leonsis and Monumental Sports is only one of two WNBA team owners that own an NBA and NHL team as well as the arena where the team plays, the other ownership group being Madison Square Garden, which is headed by Jim Dolan. MSG is the New York Liberty's owner.
The big difference between Monumental Sports and Madison Square Garden is that the latter group also has its own television network that carries team content for the Liberty, the Knicks and Rangers. This move indicates that Leonsis wants to head in this direction as well. Digitally, it appears to be easier, but perhaps Monumental Sports may have its own television network on local cable providers down the road. Currently, Comcast SportsNet MidAtlantic airs games for the three teams.
From a general WNBA perspective it remains to be seen how much of an advantage this could give the Mystics over other teams in the long run from a media standpoint because of the size of the DC market, as well as the fact that the Mystics are owned by one of the most heavy hitting ownership groups in the league. Obviously on the basketball court, the team is not doing well, but if and when the team improves, the Mystics have a better media platform to expose themselves to fans, than some of the small ownership groups in the league, like those for the Seattle Storm and Atlanta Dream.
Still, this is a major thing done by Monumental Sports, and it could be a way for the Mystics to gain more coverage over the long haul.