Disney contends that a big part of BAMTech’s value has been "overlooked," and that is as other media companies move toward streaming, BAMTech "intends to sign them up as clients," according to Barnes & Koblin of the N.Y. TIMES, who write under the header, "Disney's Big Bet On Streaming Relies On Little Known Tech Company." Disney Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Mayer said, "That’s going to be a massive business, and BAMTech is going to be a massive winner in it." But Barnes & Koblin note by the end of next year, BAMTech will "lose one important customer: HBO, which is moving to a global platform built by its own tech team." BAMTech built HBO Now for roughly $50M, "delivering it just in time for the Season 5 premiere of 'Game of Thrones,' which went off flawlessly." Some critics also have been "sniping" about how much Disney paid for BAMTech. However, BAMTech's track record features "no serious glitches, even when delivering tens of millions of live streams at a time." The 850-employee BAMTech also has "impressive advertising technology (inserting ads in video based on viewer location) and a strong reputation for attracting and keeping viewers, not to mention billing them." But while BAMTech has "proved its streaming bona fides, it still lacks the algorithms and the personalization skills that have helped propel Netflix to success." To fill that gap, BAMTech CEO Michael Paull recently hired former FBI CTO Justin Lindsey to "be the head of analytics." (N.Y. TIMES, 10/9).
