The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire majority ownership of direct-toconsumer streaming technology specialist BAMTech , announcing plans to launch its ESPN-branded multi-sport video streaming service in early 2018 , followed by a new Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019 . Disney will pay $ 1.58 billion to acquire an additional 42 % stake in BAMTech from MLBAM , the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball . Disney previously acquired a 33 % stake in BAMTech under an agreement that included an option to acquire a majority stake over several years . “ The media landscape is increasingly defined by direct relationships between content creators and consumers , and our control of BAMTech ’ s full array of innovative technology will give us the power to forge those connections , along with the flexibility to quickly adapt to shifts in the market ,” said Robert A . Iger , chairman and chief executive officer , The Walt Disney Company . “ This acquisition and the launch of our directto-consumer services mark an entirely new growth strategy for the Company , one that takes advantage of the incredible opportunity that changing technology provides us to leverage the strength of our great brands .” The ESPN-branded multi-sport service will offer what Disney describes as “ a robust array ” of sports programming , featuring

approximately 10,000 live regional , national , and international games and events a year , including Major League Baseball , National Hockey League , Major League Soccer , Grand Slam tennis , and college sports . Individual sport packages will also be available for purchase , including MLB . TV , NHL . TV and MLS Live . The new service will be accessed through an enhanced version of the current ESPN app . In addition to the multi-sport service , the ESPN app will include the news , highlights , and scores that fans enjoy today . Consumers who are pay TV subscribers will also be able to access the ESPN television networks in the same app on an authenticated basis . For many sports fans , this app will become the premier digital destination for all their sports content . The new Disney-branded service will become the exclusive home in the US for subscriptionvideo-on-demand viewing of the newest live action and animated movies from Disney and Pixar , beginning with the 2019 theatrical slate , which includes Toy Story 4 , the sequel to Frozen , and The Lion King from Disney live-action , along with other highly anticipated movies . Disney will also make a significant investment in an annual slate of original movies , TV shows , short-form content and other Disney-branded exclusives for the service . Additionally , the service will feature a vast collection of library content , including Disney and Pixar movies and Disney Channel , Disney Junior and Disney XD television programming . With this strategic shift , Disney will end

its distribution agreement with Netflix for subscription streaming of new releases , beginning with the 2019 calendar year theatrical slate . Plans are for the Disney and ESPN streaming services to be available for purchase directly from Disney and ESPN , in app stores , and from authorised MVPDs . “ We ’ re very proud of the content distribution innovations driven by MLBAM and BAMTech over the past 15 years ,” said commissioner of baseball Robert D . Manfred , Jr . “ Major League Baseball will continue to work with Disney and ESPN to further grow BAMTech as it breaks new ground in technologies for consumers to access entertainment and sports programming .” “ This is an exciting validation of our team , its achievements and the customer-centric platform it ’ s built ,” said Michael Paull , chief executive officer of BAMTech . “ Yet , we ’ ve merely scratched the surface of what can be accomplished in a future where we combine Disney and ESPN ’ s world-class IP and our proprietary direct-to-consumer ecosystem .” The BAMTech transaction is subject to regulatory approval , and upon closing , Iger will serve as chairman of the BAMTech Board . MLBAM and NHL will continue as minority stakeholders in BAMTech , with seats on the Board . Paull will report to Kevin A . Mayer , senior executive vice president and chief strategy officer , The Walt Disney Company . John Skipper , ESPN president and co-chairman , Disney Media Networks , will manage the new ESPN-branded service .

Sling TV on Google Chrome

OTT service Sling TV has launched an in-browser player on popular web browser Google Chrome . Available in beta for all new and existing Sling TV customers , Sling TV ’ s compatibility with Chrome enables customers to watch live and on-demand television directly in their web browser , with no app download required .

“ The Sling TV experience on Google Chrome is not only fast , intuitive and incredibly simple to use , it also gives customers the added benefit of seamlessly starting live

and on-demand television with a click of their mouse ,” said Jimshade Chaudhari , vice president of product management for Sling TV . “ Sling customers can stream their favourite can ’ t-miss content , like live NFL games or the next episode of ‘ Game of Thrones ’ on Sling . com without the hassles of downloading plug-ins or logging in to another device .”

The beta version of Sling TV ’ s in-browser

player is available immediately on the latest version of Google Chrome-supported devices and operating systems . It includes popular features such as ‘ My TV ’ and the ‘ Continue Watching ’

ribbon , plus easy access to account settings , parental controls and more . Sling TV ’ s first in-browser player will continue to roll out additional features on Google Chrome , including DVR and grid guide .