MLB's BAMTech partners with Discovery Communications for European expansion

BAMTech, MLB's technology services and video streaming company, joined with Discovery Communications to announce a long-term partnership that forms BAMTech Europe.

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BAMTech, the technology services and video streaming company formed by Major League Baseball, joined with Discovery Communications on Tuesday to announce a long-term partnership that forms BAMTech Europe.

The new digital technology provider will work with content owners, broadcasters and over-the-top platforms to enhance their capabilities in Europe. Initially, the focus will be on Eurosport.

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Eurosport Digital will become BAMTech Europe’s first client, and will help them gain access to select European sports rights. BAMTech’s back-end video platform and services will be implemented next year across all of Eurosport Digital’s products, which today include Eurosport.com and subscription-based OTT platform Eurosport Player. Discovery acquired full ownership of Eurosport last year.

“The collaboration of Discovery’s breadth of live sports content, including the Olympic Games, and BAMTech will bring European fans access to these valuable events like never before,” Bob Bowman, MLB president of business and media, said in a statement “Discovery has been a global leader in media and will be a great partner in expanding BAMTech to Europe, with an eye to developing new models for delivering content in the best interests of customers. We can’t wait to get started.”

BAMTech, which the Walt Disney Company purchased a 33% stake in for $1 billion in August, currently serves 7.5 million total global paid subscribers with its U.S.-based clients’ OTT products.

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, said on the company’s Q3 earnings call that the joint venture with BAMTech “will greatly accelerate Eurosport’s access to over 700 million people in Europe.”

“The formation of this world-class technology provider, BAMTech Europe, with our partners at BAMTech, accelerates Discovery’s long-term strategy to bring our premium content to more viewers across more screens than ever before,” Zaslav, said.