Disney Streaming

Disney Streaming
Formerly
  • BAMTech Media (2015–2018)
  • Disney Streaming Services, LLC (2018–2021)
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry
FoundedFebruary 2015; 9 years ago (2015-02)
FounderMajor League Baseball Advanced Media
HeadquartersChelsea Market,
Manhattan, New York
,
U.S.
ServicesStreaming
Number of employees
850 (2017)
ParentDisney Entertainment
Subsidiaries
Total Subscribers: 234.6 million
WebsitePress Disney+

Disney Streaming[1][2] (formerly known as BAMTech Media from 2015 to 2018, and Disney Streaming Services[3] from 2018 to 2021) is a technology subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company located in Manhattan, New York City.[4] It was established in 2015 as a spin-off of MLB Advanced Media—the digital media arm of Major League Baseball, focused on providing Video on demand technology, particularly for Over-the-top media service (OTT) services. The company's major clients include ESPN (for its ESPN+ and ESPN3 services), the National Hockey League, and Blaze Media.

It was majority owned by MLB Advanced Media (which is, in turn, a consortium of MLB's principal team owners), with minority stakes held by the NHL and other investors. Disney acquired a minority stake in the company in August 2016 for $1 billion, and the following year, announced its intent to increase its stake to a 75% controlling stake for $1.58 billion. The deal was approved by regulators in September 2017.[5][6] With the acquisition of BAMTech by Disney, the company began to develop two subscription streaming services aligned with Disney properties: the sports-oriented service, ESPN+, and the global family entertainment service, Disney+; United States general entertainment service Hulu and Latin America general entertainment service Star+ were later transferred into the company in August 2021. Disney had acquired sole ownership by November 2022.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference DisneyNov2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Disney Streaming's Twitter". Twitter. Disney Streaming. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  3. ^ Spangler, Todd (October 10, 2018). "Disney Appoints ESPN's Aaron LaBerge as CTO of Streaming and International Division". Variety. Retrieved November 13, 2018. LaBerge and the DTCI Technology team will collaborate closely with Disney Streaming Services, the group previously known as BAMTech, which remains responsible for DTCI's direct-to-consumer subscription streaming platforms.
  4. ^ BARNES, Brooks; KOBLIN, John (October 8, 2017). "Disney's Big Bet on Streaming Relies on Little-Known Tech Company". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  5. ^ Munson, Ben (September 20, 2017). "Disney gets OK from FTC for $1.58B BAMTech buy". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  6. ^ Eggerton, John (September 20, 2017). "Feds OK Disney's BAMTech Buy". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved September 20, 2017.