BROADCASTS.com

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Ben and David continue Acquired\\u2019s \\u201ctech and sports\\u201d mini-series with Disney\\u2019s 2016 acquisition of a minority stake (with the right to purchase a majority stake at a later date) in BAMTech, the internet streaming company originally founded as part of Major League Baseball in the early 2000\\u2019s. However the importance of this story goes deeper than just sports, with major ramifications for nearly every major technology company from Amazon to YouTube. Even if you\\u2019re not not sure if baseball\\u2019s played on a diamond or a gridiron, tune in as we swing for the fences in predicting the future of TV!\\xa0

Sponsors:
Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
Crusoe: https://bit.ly/acquiredcrusoe
Modern Treasury: https://bit.ly/acquiredmoderntreasury

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• What is BAMTech, and why is it, according to The Verge, "the future of television\\u201d?
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• BAMTech\\u2019s origins as part of Major League Baseball\'s Advanced Media division ("MLBAM)\\u201d)
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• MLBAM\\u2019s founding CEO Bob Bowman\\u2019s decidedly \\u201cnon-tech\\u201d background, and growth into one of the most important tech leaders of the past 15 years
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• Initial technology struggles and learnings from early streaming efforts (including a botched audio package of Ichiro Suzuki\\u2019s games with the Mariners for fans in Japan)
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• Landing on a streaming model that works with the launch of MLB.tv in 2002/2003\\u2014three years before YouTube is founded!\\xa0
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• Improvement of the MLB.tv service and MLBAM\\u2019s streaming expertise over the next ten years through the rise of mobile, and simultaneous \\xa0growth of MLBAM\\u2019s revenues to over $1B annually\\n
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• MLBAM\\u2019s initial deals to expand its streaming services beyond baseball, starting with ESPN in 2010, then WWE, the PGA, \\xa0HBO and \\xa0the NHL\\n
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• The importance of media rights, and MLBAM\\u2019s transition from a simple tech/infrastructure provider to \\xa0a full-fledged media company\\xa0
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• The decision to initiate a spin-off process for BAMTech from MLB in August 2015, and Disney\\u2019s $1B investment into the newly created spin-out company in August 2016
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• Disney\\u2019s subsequent announcement that they\\u2019ll be \\xa0working with BAMTech to create a direct-to-consumer ESPN streaming service\\n
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• BAMTech\\u2019s \\xa0$300M deal with Riot Games in December 2016 for the media rights to League of Legends eSports content\\xa0
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• Bob Bowman\\u2019s announcement in February 2017 that he\\u2019ll be stepping back to from a day to day role, and \\xa0hiring of former Amazon VP of Video Michael Paull as BAMTech\\u2019s new CEO\\n
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\\xa0 Followups & Hot Takes:\\xa0

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• \\xa0Facebook\\u2019s struggles with Instant Articles
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• \\n\\xa0Microsoft killing Wunderlist (David is VERY sad)
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• \\xa0Instagram continues its torrid growth, passes 700M MAU
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• \\n\\xa0Amazon\\u2019s new Look\\xa0
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• \\xa0The Cloudera IPO
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• Confirmation the ride sharing wars are far from over: \\xa0Didi raises $5.5B in the largest private funding round ever\\n
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\\xa0 The Carve Out:\\xa0

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• Ben: NYT\\u2019s 4th Down Bot\\n
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• David: Wait But Why on Elon Musk\\u2019s \\u201cWizard Hat"\\n
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