Let’s talk baseball… and Disney+
Disney+ has been part of Disney’s strategy for many years. But do you know what made the platform possible? Baseball.
Important date, August 26, 2002. Major league game between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers.
This is the first time a full game is broadcast live on the internet.
This is several years before YouTube (2005) and Netflix (2007). BAM, which is the platform behind the broadcast of the game, is able to deliver content, live, via streaming, leveraging the integration of a wide range of technologies and delivery approaches.
Internet content delivery had just been taken to another level. What broadcasters, brands and advertisers now consider to be part of everyday life was not the case less than 20 years ago.
Following this first game, BAM also allowed the broadcasting of NHL, PGA, but also via some agreements, of HBO movies and tv series.
But it was in 2017 that Disney acquired 75% of the company (now called BAMTech) and would later announce the launch of Disney+, running entirely on the technologies initially developed for Major League Baseball.
Content delivery technologies have evolved at a rapid pace over the past 2 decades. This is allowing some brands to become their own media (I was recently talking to two organizations that are currently setting up an in-house content bureau, and most broadcasters and media groups already have great online delivery solutions in place), and it’s these technologies, such as BAMTech, that are allowing them to focus on content and their audiences, democratizing delivery and distribution.
I invite you to read an article published by The Hustle about the genesis of Disney+, where you can find a lot of sources and links if you want to know more about this story.