MNMT’s playoff audience surged 66% compared to 2024 during team’s First Round series win against Montreal
Washington, D.C. (May 9, 2025) – Monumental Sports Network (MNMT) announced today that the network saw remarkable year-over-year viewership growth for Washington Capitals programming on the independent media platform, owned and operated by Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE).
“Capitals fans are second-to-none and have shown unwavering support for our team this season,” said Zach Leonsis, President of Media & New Enterprises at MSE. “To see this level of engagement amid shifting viewing habits is an incredible achievement and speaks to the dedication of our passionate fanbase, talented on-air team, and the hard work of everyone behind the scenes, not to mention the fantastic performance by the Capitals during this historic season.”
2024-25 Regular Season
During the team’s 50th anniversary season, which also featured Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin’s successful pursuit of the NHL’s all-time career goals record, MNMT saw growth in both linear tv viewership and streaming for live Capitals games and shoulder programming:
Live Games: In-game viewership for Capitals games on MNMT increased 37% compared to last season within the D.C. and Baltimore markets (HH).
Between January-April 2025, average viewership increased every month as the team marched toward the playoffs and Ovechkin pursued Wayne Gretzky’s record (P2+).
Most-Watched Games: 1) April 4 vs. Chicago, 2) April 6 at New York, 3) March 18 vs. Detroit (P2+)
Streaming: Capitals streaming viewership for the regular season increased by 90% based on unique users, compared to 2023-24.
Pre/Postgame: Demand for Capitals pre- and postgame programming surged dramatically, up 62% and 86% respectively year-over-year (HH).
Head-to-Head: Capitals games on MNMT outperformed ESPN’s programming in local markets during the game timeframe 69% of the time, FOX Sports 1 (92%), TNT (92%), and ESPN2 (99%). (P2+)
Source: Nielsen Media Research, HH & P2+ demos. DC & Baltimore DMA’s. Comparison to other network data based on overnight reports. Streaming data based on internal ViewLift reports.
2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Viewership on MNMT continued to surge during the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, after the Capitals secured the 2024-25 Metropolitan Division title and the top seed in the Eastern Conference:
Live Games: Average linear viewership for the First Round against the Montreal Canadiens outperformed last year’s playoff series against the New York Rangers by 66% (HH).
Streaming: Streaming viewership increased by 158% based on unique users.
Pre/Postgame: Pregame viewership for the First Round outperformed last year’s playoffs by 130% and postgame viewership was up 107% (HH).
Head-to-Head: Capitals playoff games on MNMT this year outperformed the competing Capitals-Canadiens broadcasts on ESPN, TNT, and TBS in the D.C. and Baltimore markets for all five games during the First Round, with 108% higher viewership overall (P2+).
Source: Nielsen Media Research, HH & P2+ demos, DC & BL DMA’s. Comparison data based on playoff games aired on MNMT, 4/1/24 – 4/30/25. Streaming data based on internal ViewLift reports.
MNMT will continue to offer fans in the DMV region robust gameday coverage throughout the Capitals run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, including special pre- and postgame programming featuring fan-favorite on-air talent. MNMT is surrounding all Capitals playoff games with live hour-long editions of Capitals Pregame Live and Capitals Postgame Live broadcast from MNMT’s state-of-the-art studios. Special editions of Caps Rink Report Live featuring John Walton and Tarik El-Bashir also stream live on the state-of-the-art Monumental+ app (M+) at 12:00 PM ET on all Capitals playoff game days.
Capitals playoff shoulder programming is hosted by Alexa Landestoy and features MNMT analysts Alan May, Bruce Boudreau, Brent Johnson, Devante Smith-Pelly, and Tarik El-Bashir. Emmy Award-winning play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati, game analyst Craig Laughlin, and rinkside reporter Al Koken also will contribute to the network’s coverage.
Capitals playoff coverage on MNMT is available to local fans both on linear tv and via streaming platforms within the network’s coverage area, stretching from Richmond to Delaware. Capitals fans can watch the games through their TV provider, on monumentalplus.com, or by downloading the Monumental+ (M+) app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV and using an eligible TV Everywhere log-in.
For fans without a TV provider, MNMT offers direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscription memberships for viewers seeking to access MNMT’s Capitals playoffs programming. Fans can purchase monthly or annual memberships at monumentalplus.com or by downloading the M+ app.
Throughout the 2024-25 season, in addition to 70 live regular season games and five playoff games, MNMT offered fans comprehensive coverage of the team’s 50th anniversary season and Ovechkin’s chase of the NHL’s all-time career goals record. MNMT’s 50th anniversary and Ovechkin-related coverage has included robust multiplatform content, special gameday programs, and themed original programming, including Hometown with Rachel Nichols, Caps Red Line, and Caps Rink Report. Live game coverage included the return of MNMT’s alternate broadcasts with fun and relaxed insights, along with the ability to watch the game from multiple camera angles simultaneously on the M+ app.
###
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 monumentalplus.com.
