Monumental Sports & Entertainment Announces New General Manager for NBC Sports Washington and Latest Partners for Monumental’s Network

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which completed the acquisition of NBC Sports Washington on September 20^th, today announced a key new hire and additional partners to lead the work on integrating the network into the larger Monumental platform, while also building for the future.

Friday Abernethy has been appointed the new General Manager of the network. Abernethy is a strategic dealmaker with high-impact media experience and a proven ability to inspire, grow, and reimagine businesses. An innovative and collaborative leader known for meeting industry disruption head-on, Friday has managed significant revenue streams, reimagined long-time partnerships, and transformed business models to reflect technological advances. Abernethy will oversee day-to-day operations of the network while working with existing leadership to build best-in-class linear and digital services for current and new partners alike.

“I’m incredibly pleased to announce the appointment of several reputable industry professionals and agencies who will augment our existing leadership team, provide complementary skillsets and experiences, and accelerate our transition to our future state,” Zach Leonsis, President, Media & New Enterprises for Monumental Sports shared. “Our organization has worked tirelessly to prepare for a thoughtful and competent approach to fully integrating this network into our platform. These announcements demonstrate the wherewithal and level of seriousness with which we approach this transition.”

Monumental seeks to reimagine how local networks connect with sports fans, given changing consumption habits and new and emerging technologies. To achieve this, they have partnered with industry leaders in their respective fields to bring something truly new to sports fans and the sports industry.

Rebranding: To support the network’s rebrand effort, Monumental has retained Washington, DC metro area-based HZ, a brand experience agency.

Advertising: Monumental has partnered with industry leader, Playfly, to drive unwired and national advertising sales across its linear broadcast channel and the digital platforms.

Production Facility: Diversified has been engaged to design and deliver a brand-new production facility near Capital One Arena. Serving as the prime technology partner, Diversified provides all scenic, lighting, AV, and broadcast and digital technology solutions within the new facility.

Digital Platform and Tech Solutions: ViewLift, a leading end-to-end digital platform providing OTT distribution solutions for content owners across multiple device platforms, including web, mobile, connected TV devices, smart TVs and gaming consoles, is the digital partner for Monumental. Monumental has tapped ViewLift to design, integrate, develop, and launch a robust digital experience for Mid-Atlantic sports fans across all major streaming devices. The new digital platform will ultimately replace existing infrastructure provided by NBC Universal and Monumental Sports Network.

Leonsis continued, “Acquiring our local media network provides us with an exceptional opportunity to take a step back, collaborate with existing leadership, and invest into the future. We could not be more excited to debut the results of this significant undertaking to fans and partners alike later in 2023.”