Comcast agrees to sell majority stake in NBC Sports Washington

Comcast Corp. has agreed to sell its majority possession stake in NBC Sports Washington, the regional sports activities community that airs native Washington, D.C., NBA and NHL video games, to Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

Monumental, which invests in sports activities groups and companies, has owned a 33% stake in the community since 2016. Following the shut of the deal, of which phrases weren’t disclosed, it would take possession of Comcast’s 67% place.

NBC Sports Washington has aired the NBA’s Wizards and NHL’s Capitals since 1984, when the community was launched. The channel is accessible all through D.C., Maryland and Virginia, in addition to elements of Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia.

As a part of the deal, Comcast’s NBCUniversal stated it would proceed to help in working the community for up to 18 months.

The deal comes as native sports activities channels have been under pressure as shoppers proceed to drop their subscriptions to cable and satellite-TV packages. The media firms behind these networks have been determining a viable enterprise that gives a streaming possibility.

In June, the New England Sports Network, the native channel that airs Boston’s Red Sox and Bruins video games, launched a stand-alone streaming subscription, which expenses $29.99 a month.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., the proprietor of the most important portfolio of regional sports activities networks, has began providing a streaming possibility in a few of its markets and plans to roll out streaming entry for all of its channels in coming months.

Comcast nonetheless owns a handful of different native sports activities channels, reminiscent of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The Wall Street Journal beforehand reported it was exploring a sale of the networks.

 Disclosure: CNBC is owned by Comcast’s NBCUniversal.