MLBAM over the last 15 years has "emerged as the most talented and reliable name in streaming video, a skill set suddenly in very high demand," according to Ben Popper of THE VERGE. MLBAM "competes for clients" with the likes of NeuLion, Imagine Communications and Verizon. But streaming industry analyst Dan Rayburn said, "There really isn’t anybody who does the true end-to-end solution like MLB does, especially at scale." Popper noted MLBAM recently "cemented its status as one of the most important players at the intersection of sports, media, and technology" after announcing that it will be "powering the mobile, web, and television offerings" from the NHL and PGA Tour. The new approach moves MLBAM "beyond just a white label service provider, putting them in position to become an ESPN of the internet age, competing against the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon with the one thing all those services lack: live sports." But to make it all work, MLBAM "has to grow beyond baseball" and "become more independent." The idea of spinning MLBAM out to create a new company "has been floated for years, but in the last few months it has hardened into a certainty." This week's announcement that the NHL will invest in this new venture "makes it a fact."
EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM: MLBAM’s early entrance to streaming video "gave it a big advantage in developing technology, but it also gave the group a head start at the process of deploying infrastructure." Great streaming "requires 'points of presence' spread across the globe near population centers." MLBAM since its inception has been "building out data centers and high-speed fiber connections, forging intimate relationships with the companies that control the guts of the internet." When HBO originally set out to create HBO Now, the project was reportedly "expected to take three years" and cost $900M. MLBAM "turned the same project around in three and half months" for less than $50M. MLBAM Exec VP/Business Kenny Gersh said, "We applied the learnings from MLB.tv to WWE, and we applied the learnings from WWE to HBO." Popper noted not every effort has been "a success." When 2K Sports decided against publishing a new baseball title this year, MLBAM "stepped in and created an entire console game from scratch in a year and a half." The result "earned withering reviews." But if MLBAM can "pull off its plan to spin out as a stand-alone tech company, it could step away from such projects and focus on its core capabilities" (THEVERGE.com, 8/4).
