We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Privacy Notice
Accept
BASIC thinking InternationalBASIC thinking International
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • MARKETING
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • BUSINESS
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • GREEN
  • 🇩🇪
Reading: MLBAM, “The Biggest Media Company You’ve Never Heard Of”
Share
BASIC thinking InternationalBASIC thinking International
Search
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • MARKETING
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • BUSINESS
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • GREEN
  • 🇩🇪
Follow US
© 2003 - 2023 BASIC thinking GmbH
baseball
Business

MLBAM, “The Biggest Media Company You’ve Never Heard Of”

Philipp Ostsieker
Last updated: March 6, 2023
Philipp Ostsieker Published November 7, 2017
SHARE

Baseball and ice hockey have been coming closer together for two years now. This is just one of the many examples of successful Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) projects. The company is considered to be one of the most exciting players in the sports business.

Launched in 2000 as the core of MLBAM, MLB.com was financed by 30 clubs under an agreement for $1 million  per year for four years – totaling $120 million. To the owners’ delight, the website began to generate excess revenue as early as 2003, so the teams were able to start making a return on investment after only investing about $70 million. The 30 clubs now receive annual dividends. In 2014, these are estimated to have been between $7 and $8 million per club.

Under the six-year contract with NHL, MLBAM has now acquired the distribution rights for all out-of-market games for a total of 600 million dollars. This includes the release via NHL GameCenter LIVE, NHL subscription services in the USA and various international markets. MLBAM also operates NHL.com, including all foreign language versions and all NHL Club websites.

MLBAM reaches undreamt-of heights

NHL and MLBAM will work together on new digital products and platforms for design and development. The clubs retain control over the content of all channels. The MLB Network offers the use of studios and production resources for the NHL Network for distribution in the USA and some international markets. In addition, the NHL now holds seven to ten percent of the MLBAM spin-off “BAM Tech.”

It’s groundbreaking to have two leagues doing a rights deal. (John Collins, NHL COO)

The road to becoming a “major player” within the media world was marked by several key moments:

  • Providers of back-end infrastructure to stream MLB games for millions of users
  • Provider of authentication services for ESPN
  • White label service for HBO Now and the WWE Network
  • Content purchasing, e. g. digital media rights of the PGA for online and mobile media

Crowned by the NHL deal, MLBAM has successively developed further to position itself as the “Next Big Thing” within the sports media industry. With the spin-off BAM Tech, the company aims to become the ESPN of the digital age and will be competing with companies such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon in the future.

In August 2016, Disney announced the purchase of 33 percent of BAMtech’s shares. The value: $1 billion dollars. Disney CEO Bob Iger back then:”We think it’s a good investment. We love the business model. And we think that the ability to stream live sports with a scalable model is a necessary competitive advantage these days.” Disney actually picked investing in BAMtech over investing in Twitter.

A year ago, BAMTech agreed to pay at least $300 million for the exclusive streaming and monetization rights for League of Legends competitions.

TAGGED: Baseball, Featured, Ice Hockey
Philipp Ostsieker November 7, 2017
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Email
By Philipp Ostsieker
Follow:
Philipp Ostsieker is a journalist from Hamburg, Germany. He is also the editor in chief of the German online magazine Matchplan Mag. His interests include sports, innovations and tech. Follow him on Twitter.
Previous Article donald-trump-pixabay-com-geralt Why Twitter Doesn’t Delete Donald Trump’s Insults
Next Article flixbus Expansion In The USA: Flixbus Challenges Greyhound

Stay Connected

5.1k Like
180 Follow
1.9k Follow
260k Subscribe

Latest News

South Park ChatGPT
South Park: Producers let ChatGPT take part as co-writer
March 24, 2023
tiktok-challenges
New guidelines: TikTok wants to restrict deadly challenges
March 23, 2023
dall-e-bing
Microsoft integrates image generator DALL-E into search engine Bing
March 22, 2023
Amazon
Mass layoff: Amazon lays off another 9,000 employees
March 21, 2023
tiktok-feed-zuruecksetzen-1140x641
Reset function: How to reset the for-you feed on TikTok
March 20, 2023
TikTok ban US
TikTok ban: USA threatens nationwide censorship
March 17, 2023

You Might also Like

Amazon
Business

Mass layoff: Amazon lays off another 9,000 employees

Maria Gramsch Maria Gramsch
microsoft-logo
Business

Vacation without limit: Microsoft grants employees “unlimited time off”

Beatrice Bode Beatrice Bode
Business

Streaming: Disney CEO puts an end to chasing subscribers

Beatrice Bode Beatrice Bode
Show More

About us

BASIC thinking is a modern media company that reaches over 25 million page impressions worldwide.

Categories

Ad Business Entertainment Green Marketing Social Media Technology

Quick Links

  • About us
  • Advertising
  • BASIC thinking Germany
  • Imprint
  • Privacy Policy
BASIC thinking InternationalBASIC thinking International
Follow US

© 2003 - 2023 BASIC thinking GmbH

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?