One of the greatest things to come out of Major League Baseball might not be a particular team, player or record. It could be its Advanced Media group, which is a powerhouse in online streaming.
Today, the group has inked a deal with NHL. The deal between the NHL and MLBAM is set to go for six years and includes streaming and setting up all of NHL’s properties for a “more immersive experience.” I take that to mean “not suck on mobile devices.”
We had an in-depth Q&A with MLBAM’s Bob Bowman a few months ago, in which we talked to him about streaming much more than just Major League Baseball games.
In a statement from the NHL today, Commissioner Gary Bettman said:
As the market leader, MLBAM is uniquely qualified to help us give hockey fans a richer, more immersive experience with the game. But that’s just for starters. MLBAM is also the right partner because they have the expertise to help us deliver new and exciting products to our fans, who crave compelling digital content. We couldn’t have North America better covered than with the power of NBC, Rogers, TVA and MLBAM — an incredible convergence of technical, creative and production talent that is great news for our fans.
Basically, MLB is great at this. In fact, we’ve been waiting for the Advanced Media group to spin out, something we’ve heard rumblings about for quite some time. How big of a spinout? Re/code is saying $3 billion. WSJ says $5 billion. Pretty lucrative side business, eh?
They have it down to such a science that the NHL Network will be moving into the Secaucus, N.J. MLB Network headquarters to get going immediately.
Here’s a chat between Bowman and Panzarino at this year’s Disrupt NY: