Cynopsis previously announced Monumental as ‘Media Company of the Year’ in February
Category winners to be announced at 2025 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards ceremony in June
Washington, D.C. (April 22, 2025) – Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), Monumental Sports Network (MNMT), and best-in-class streaming app Monumental+ (M+) earned seven shortlist nominations across six categories for the 2025 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards. This week’s news comes after Cynopsis previously announced that MSE will be honored among its 2025 Luminaries as “Media Company of the Year” at the 14th annual awards show taking place on June 4 in New York City.
The Cynopsis Sports Media Awards recognize companies and individuals across production, marketing, and technology teams, saluting their hard work and innovation across the sports industry. MSE’s nominations this year recognized groups and individuals in front of and behind the camera across the organization’s independent media platform and productions team for their work over the past year. MSE’s full list of 2025 shortlist nominations includes:
RSN of the Year: MNMT
Productive Executive: Frank Crisafulli (MNMT)
Best Media Spaces & Facilities: MNMT
Excellence in Streaming Innovation and FAST Channel Strategy: Monumental+
Mobile App: Monumental+
New Sports Show: Mystics Courtside
New Sports Show: Politics Aside with Chris Cillizza
“To receive several shortlist nominations for the 2025 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards, in addition to our ‘Media Company of the Year’ recognition, is a point of great pride and highlights our organization’s investment in innovation and commitment to excellence in sports media,” said Zach Leonsis, President of Media & New Enterprises at MSE. “As we continue to redefine local sports content through our dynamic programming, brand-new digital platform, and first-of-its-kind media production facility, I am especially proud to acknowledge the vision of our network’s leadership team and the hard work of all our staff who made this possible.”
Over the past year, MSE has solidified its status as one of the most influential enterprises in the sports media landscape. MSE has the strongest media committee representation at the league level in all of sports, has the largest in-house production team in the NBA, NHL, and WNBA, and owns and distributes the local broadcast rights for the NHL’s Washington Capitals, NBA’s Washington Wizards, WNBA’s Washington Mystics, and NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go through MNMT.
While other regional sports networks navigate shifting viewer behavior, MNMT has completely reimagined and effectively advanced how fans consume local sports content. Recent additions to MNMT’s programming lineup include four categories of alternate broadcasts (including Spanish language broadcasts), original programs with national names like the new Politics Aside with Chris Cillizza and Hometown with Rachel Nichols, and the launch of M+, an upgraded state-of-the-art app that, as of February 2025, includes integrated real-time sports betting odds and gamification options during live game streams for the Capitals and Wizards through “Monumental Game Center.”
“Monumental Sports Network has experienced remarkable growth this year in both the breadth and quality of our programming and we owe it all to our talented team, both on-camera and behind the scenes,” added Friday Abernethy, General Manager at MNMT. “We look forward to the ceremony in June, where we will showcase the remarkable achievements of our group and we’re excited to continue expanding our exceptional programming for D.C. sports fans moving forward.”
In addition to controlling the local rights for the Capitals, Wizards, Mystics, and Go-Go, a critical part of MNMT’s mission is to elevate local sports at different levels and celebrate integral groups in the community like high schools, colleges, and HBCUs. MNMT will air close to 500 live games during the 2024-25 season, an all-time high. Programming for this year includes live games of local partners like the Washington Spirit (NWSL), Old Glory DC (Major League Rugby), and D.C.-area college football, men’s and women’s college basketball, college volleyball, college lacrosse, and boys and girls high school basketball.
Last March, MSE brought to life one of the most important efforts in company history: the design, development, and integration of the company’s bleeding-edge 2110 IP-based production facility and studio – the home of MNMT. The brand-new multi-million-dollar headquarters includes two national-quality studios engineered to deliver exceptional backdrops for MNMT’s programming, two insert studios, and five control rooms. This remarkable facility marked a significant milestone in MSE’s mission to create a best-in-class media experience for viewers in the greater Washington, D.C. region.
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About Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Monumental Sports & Entertainment is America’s leading sports and entertainment family. Our people, players, teams and events bring excitement and joy to millions. We invest and innovate to consistently raise the game so we can deliver extraordinary experiences that will inspire and unite our community, our fans and our people. To learn more, please visit https://monumentalsports.com/.
About Monumental Sports Network
Monumental Sports Network is wholly owned and operated by Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE). The network holds exclusive local television media rights for the NHL’s Washington Capitals, NBA’s Washington Wizards and WNBA’s Washington Mystics games. MNMT is also the TV and digital home to the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go and the NBA 2K League’s Wizards District Gaming as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes content and original sports and entertainment programming. The network also boasts the most comprehensive regional high school and collegiate sports programming in the greater Washington D.C. metro area. For more, visit: monumentalsportsnetwork.com.
