For well over 20 years, Comcast Sportsnet MidAtlantic (formerly Home Team Sports) has been the home network for Capitals games on television. The employer of the beloved broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati, color analyst Craig Laughlin, and on-ice reporter Al Koken, the brand has become synonymous with Caps hockey in the DMV area. However, according to a report from The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg, the network is rebranding as NBC Sports Washington.

As part of a rebranding that began a few years ago in 2011 with the acquisition of NBCUniversal, Comcast Sportsnet MidAtlantic will be finalizing the process with the name change, its first since 2001, when it became Comcast Sportsnet. An overflow channel known as TCN MidAtlantic to those who subscribe to Comcast, will be rebranded as NBC Washington+, as it will on other television providers.

Per the Post, the company’s website will not change until October, as will the network’s social media accounts. The branding of NBC Sports Washington is another indication of the network’s aim to supply coverage of three of the major sports teams in D.C.: the Capitals, Washington Wizards, and Washington Redskins, after dropping coverage of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens earlier this year. Other regions that Comcast Sportsnet provides coverage (CSN Chicago, CSN New England, and CSN Philadelphia) will also be rebranded, while CSN Bay Area and California already made the transition in the spring.

By Michael Fleetwood