The Walt Disney Company is going all in on BAMTech, announcing plans to acquire majority ownership the streaming service that will anchor the launch of an ESPN-branded multi-sport video streaming service in early 2018, with an additional 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 ESPN-branded multi-sport service will offer a lineup of 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 service will be accessed through an enhanced version of the current ESPN app.

“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 direct-to-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.”