Disney is in "advanced talks to take an equity stake" in BAM Tech, the video technology business that MLBAM "has been looking to spin off into a separate company for some time," according to sources cited by Peter Kafka of RE/CODE. MLBAM already "handles video streaming for many large clients, including WatchESPN." Sources said that Disney is "one of multiple bidders who want to invest in MLBAM." Kafka noted Disney and ESPN in particular "have been under pressure from investors since last summer," when Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger "acknowledged that ESPN has been losing pay TV subscribers." An ownership stake in an entity like BAM Tech "could help the company launch and operate new digital services aimed at replacing some of the pay TV revenue that's at risk from cord-cutters and people who never sign up for pay TV." Sources speculate that a Disney investment in BAM Tech "would include an option to eventually buy a controlling stake." MLB President of Business & Media Bob Bowman "has spent years trying to figure out how to turn his video operation into a standalone company." Last summer he "started a new push, by acquiring streaming video rights" from the NHL and "hiring bankers to find investors for the company" (RECODE.net, 4/15).
