Disney acquired a 33 percent stake in BAMTech on Tuesday in a deal worth $1 billion. BAMTech was spun off from Major League Baseball Advanced Media. It’s a tech company and video streaming company that includes clients such as HBO NOW.
That means Disney could use BAM’s streaming technology to create a long-awaited ESPN streaming service that Disney could sell directly to consumers — even if they don’t have a cable subscription.
“Our investment in BAMTech gives us the technology infrastructure we need to quickly scale and monetize our streaming capabilities at ESPN and across our company,” Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO said in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with BAMTech as we explore new ways to deliver the unmatched content of The Walt Disney Company across a variety of platforms.”
BAMTech will also collaborate with ESPN to “launch and distribute a new ESPN-branded multi-sport subscription streaming service in the future” that will include sporting events beyond the current crop of games and programs currently found on ESPN. However, current content on ESPN networks wouldn’t appear on the new subscription streaming service.
“Bringing a multi-sport service directly to fans is an exciting opportunity that capitalizes on BAMTech’s premier digital distribution platform and continues ESPN’s heritage of embracing technology to create new ways to connect fans with sports,” said John Skipper, ESPN president and co-chair of Disney Media Networks. “As WatchESPN continues to grow and add value to the multichannel video subscription, this new service will be an outstanding complement.”
Streaming and digital products could also be the applied to Disney and ABC Television Group.
More details will be released in the coming months.
