A carriage dispute has now resulted in Monumental Sports Network being removed from Fubo. The removal of the channel means subscribers in the Washington, DC viewing area have lost access to most Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics games.
Earlier this week, Monumental began warning Fubo subscribers there was a possibility that the channel could be removed, due to the two companies having failed to agree a new deal. Last last night, Monumental confirmed to Streaming Better that those negotiations had failed to result in a deal, and Monumental Sports Network had been removed from Fubo.
“After a lengthy negotiating process, Monumental Sports Network is no longer available on Fubo. This means that D.C. sports fans who are Fubo subscribers do not have access to live games for the Mystics, Capitals, Wizards, and other local teams such as the Washington Spirit and area HBCUs, colleges, and high schools.”
Monumental says that it continued to negotiate with Fubo to keep the regional sports network in the channel lineup but Fubo refused multiple offers, including the same market-rate terms other distributors agreed to. Monumental also took aim at Fubo’s stance on being a sports-focused streaming service and its commitment to women’s sports in general.
“Moving forward, our highly-rated WNBA content, including Wednesday’s Mystics-Fever game, will no longer be available on Fubo, which is unfortunate given the unprecedented interest that women’s sports are experiencing. This outcome seems at odds with Fubo’s claim to be the leading sports-focused live TV platform and clearly signals a total lack of interest in local women’s sports at a time when the rest of the world has declared their importance.“
In a new help post, Fubo confirmed that Monumental Sports Network was officially removed from the channel lineup at 5 p.m. ET on June 15, 2024 and there were no indications that the regional sports network would rejoin the Fubo channel lineup anytime soon.
“Our mission has always been to offer a leading package of premium sports, news, and entertainment programming while balancing value and keeping your costs as low as possible.
Unfortunately, we were unable to reach terms with Monumental Sports Network to renew our content agreement,” the help post reads.
For affected subscribers now looking to access to the regional sports network, Monumental Sports Network offers its own streaming service through monumentalsportsnetwork.com, with a subscription priced at $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year. Alternatively, DirecTV Stream (Choice and higher) and YouTube TV both offer Monumental Sports Network as part of their base packages.
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