The Walt Disney Co. has put studio executive Ricky Strauss in charge of content and marketing for the much-anticipated Disney-branded direct-to-consumer subscription video-on-demand service set to launch late next year.

Strauss, who had been president of marketing for The Walt Disney Studios, will be president, content, for the SVOD service and will report to Kevin Mayer, chair, Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International.

Related: Disney Reorganizes to Create Direct-to-Consumer Segment

The new DTC is a key initiative for Disney, which is looking to compete with Netflix in the streaming space. Acquiring content for DTC products is a driver behind Disney’s effort to acquire assets from 21st Century Fox, including its TV and movie studios.

Strauss will be in charge of developing the strategic content vision for the service, overseeing development of the service's original programming slate, production partnerships and content acquisitions, Disney said.

Original content for the service will come from The Walt Disney Studios, Disney-ABC Television Group, Disney Digital Media, Pixar Animation, Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm.

Related: Iger Says Disney DTC App Will Include Star Wars, Marvel Franchises

"Ricky’s vast knowledge of content production and marketing combined with an astute awareness of how audiences connect with the Disney brand is unmatched,” said Mayer. “His creativity, passion and the deep industry relationships he has cultivated over many years will surely strengthen our ability to successfully launch and grow our upcoming SVOD product into an unparalleled content experience and the must-have streaming service for families and fans of The Walt Disney Company’s high-quality entertainment.”

Agnes Chu will continue in a key leadership position as senior VP of content for the service, reporting to Strauss.

Strauss will also be responsible for all facets of content marketing for the service, while Michael Paull, president, Disney Streaming Services, will be responsible for product, technology, distribution, customer acquisition, and lifecycle marketing.

“It has been such a privilege to be a part of The Walt Disney Studios team these past six years in a role that provided me the opportunity to work with incredibly talented individuals on amazing projects that go beyond anything I could have ever imagined,” said Strauss. “It is with great anticipation that I begin this next chapter with Disney’s new Direct-to-Consumer and International segment, under Kevin’s leadership. I look forward to collaborating with the many talented content creators around the Company to expand the exceptional collection of assets that will make up the future Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service.”

Las Vegas – Gathering and analyzing viewership data increasingly is becoming a key tool for over-the-top video and TV services, Michael Paull, the recently named CEO of BAM Tech, said here Tuesday.

Having access to consumption data gives distributors and their content partners a way to “super-serve” their customers, Paull said in his first public appearance since taking the helm of BAM Tech, the Disney-backed technology services and video streaming spin-off of MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM).

RELATED: Michael Paull Named CEO of BAM Tech

Paull, an industry vet who previously ran Amazon Channels, Amazon’s curated subscription VOD platform, said streaming data shows how long viewers are watching and if they are coming back, and also provides other critical information that can help to drive programming and scheduling decisions and a clearer view on where to focus infrastructure spending.

“You have real data, as opposed to sample data,” he said, later noting that the flexibility  OTT allows content providers the ability to “micro-program” because they have access to “an infinite number of slots, even in primetime.”

“It’s about building scalable data analysis capabilities,” Paull explained.

BAM Tech’s other clients (and financial backers, in some cases) include Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, HBO and World Wresting Entertainment. Competitors include a wide range of multiscreen specialists such as Verizon Digital Media Services, Comcast Technology Solutions, and NeuLion.

RELATED: Disney Buys One-Third of BAMTech for $1 Billion

He said it’s the mandate of BAM Tech to build a “best-in-class” platform that delivers live entertainment and technology services to other content owners and providers, doing it through a scalable system that handles and manages elements such as real-time encoding, blackout restrictions, and a flexible capacity system that can support “significant concurrent usage.”

“I see a huge opportunity in over-the-top distribution of live entertainment,” Paull said in his keynote conversation with Will Richmond, editor and publisher of VideoNuze.

He said BAM Tech is also positioned well as consumer viewing behavior continues to shift toward a wide array of devices whether they are in the home or on the go.

“Consumers expect, not just want, to watch anything at any time,” he said, adding that supporting multiple mobile and TV-connected devices has become a prime requirement. When they are paying for programing they want to watch when it’s convenient to them, not when it’s convenient to broadcast.”

Under Paull, BAM Tech is also exploring new OTT opportunities around the world. Last year, for example, BAM Tech secured a multi-year deal with Riot Games to distribute “League of Legends” eSports content.

And though OTT services are helping to drive the cord-cutting trend for pay TV, Paull noted that MLB’s out-of-market subscription service is “complementary” to traditional TV.

“I don’t view my job to disrupt anything” but to provide a platform that supports how consumers want to access their content,  he said.

BAM Tech is also keeping an eye on emerging platforms, such as virtual reality and augmented realty.

“We are looking at a variety of things in the VR and AR space,” Paull said. “We’re excited a about the potential opportunities for people to become more immersed.”

BAM Tech, he said, is also exploring the addition of data-driven dynamic ad insertion systems that can work in tandem with a broader range of business models.

Michael Paull, the industry vet who most recently ran the Amazon Channels SVOD business, has been named CEO of BAMTech, the Disney-backed technology services and video streaming spin-off of MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM).

RELATED: Disney Buys One-Third of BAMTech for $1 Billion

Paull, who will start in March and report to the BAMTech board of directors, will set the vision for the venture and lead “its transformation into an independent company driving sustainable high growth,” the company noted.

BAMTech said it OTT platform currently serves 7.5 million global paid subs via a roster of partners that includes HBO Now, the NHL, MLB, the PGA Tour, WWE Network, Riot Games/League of Legends, and Ice Network. Discovery and BAMTech have also jointly formed BAMTech Europe.

The appointment of Paull comes amid a CEO search at BAMTech that got underway late last year after MLBAM confirmed that Bob Bowman would step back his day-to-day running of BAMTech as he returned full time to his position as president of business media at Major League Baseball, where he oversees MLBAM, MLB Network, and the league’s sponsorship and consumer product businesses.

RELATED: Search for BAMTech CEO Underway

Paull, who will be relocating to New York, most recently was vice president, digital video at Amazon. Of recent note, he spearheaded Amazon Channels, an SVOD aggregation service for Amazon Prime that offers about 100 services from partners that include HBO, Showtime and Starz. Paull has also held exec slots at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Fox Entertainment Group and Time Warner. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and also received his BS from the University of California, Riverside.

RELATED: SVOD Surge (subscription required)

“Michael is a talented and accomplished executive who shares our collective vision for BAMTech as it aggressively explores new means to acquire and distribute video content,” said Robert D. Manfred, Jr., commissioner of Baseball. “We are confident Michael will deliver on the incredible potential and promise this venture has for building powerful viewing experiences for its clients and their customers.”

The team at BAMTech has created a best in class Over-The-Top video streaming platform allowing them to develop innovative solutions for their customers,” Paull added. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with this highly accomplished team and want to thank Major League Baseball and The Walt Disney Company for this exciting opportunity.”

New York -- Amazon’s Streaming Partners Program, an  initiative launched last year for the company’s popular Prime service, has been a hit with consumers and content partners that are filling it with specialized SVOD-OTT services as the offering nears its first year on the market.

Get complete coverage of the On Demand Summit.

“The demand has been incredible,” Michael Paull, vice president, digital video at Amazon, said in a keynote conversation here Thursday at the Multichannel News/Broadcasting & CableOn Demand conference. “It’s been a great year.”

Amazon launched the program in December 2015, offering easy access to a wide range of SVOD services from partners such as Showtime, Starz and Seeso (from NBCU) that is available on top of Amazon Prime. Paull said 75 partners are now on board with the program, which handles key elements such as billing, customer care and the streaming platform that underpins the delivery to a wide range of devices and platforms.

When Amazon approached programmers and other content suppliers about joining the program, Paull acknowledged that the initial conversations were sensitive because they were concerned about how the new offering would respect their brands.

“We have leaned into their brands,” he said, noting that a partner’s brand is front and center when Amazon Prime users search for an SVOD offering or an individual show that’s offered therein.

He said the program has not cannibalized the viewing market, but has helped partners add incremental subs. “As far as we can tell, we’ve grown the market,” Paull said in a discussion with Mark Robichaux, editorial director of Multichannel News and B&C.

Paull discussed how the program, and its integration of billing and provisioning, removes friction from the subscription process, noting that it takes just two clicks for an Amazon Prime user to subscribe to a service, while others need between six to 12 clicks.

“We provide one unified experience that was simple and easy to use,” Paull said, adding that Amazon also brings them a massive audience to market to.

Paull also said Amazon’s access to data, used for the main Amazon offerings, is also being applied to video and helping to connect users with shows and movies they might like – and present that to the right person at the right time.

For example, with the third season of Power, Amazon noticed that a huge part of that audience was also watching similar programing like Empire.

“The more time [viewers] spend with us, the better the connection they will have with us, and that will allow us to serve all their needs,” Paull said.

As for what’s on the horizon, expect Amazon, which has been rumored to be pursuing live TV rights for its OTT platform, to continue to expand on the video options it makes available on its platform.

Amazon, Paull said, is looking to offer “a complete digital video experience.”