India’s entertainment landscape changed Thursday as Reliance Industries and Disney completed their long-awaited media merger, creating an Indian powerhouse worth $8.5 billion. The deal combines Disney’s Star India with Reliance’s Viacom18 and streaming platforms JioCinema and Hotstar.
Nita M. Ambani will chair the joint venture, with media veteran Uday Shankar as vice-chairman. The merger received regulatory approval from multiple jurisdictions, including the Competition Commission of India.
Reliance pumped $1.4 billion in growth capital into the venture, which will control more than 100 TV channels and produce more than 30,000 hours of content annually. The combined entity reported revenues of approximately $3.1 billion for fiscal 2024.
The ownership structure consists of Reliance Industries with 16.34%, Viacom18 with 46.82% and Disney with 36.84%. In a separate transaction, Reliance acquired Paramount Global’s 13.01% stake in Viacom18 for approximately $507 million.
The joint venture’s leadership team includes Kevin Vaz, who heads entertainment, Kiran Mani who heads digital operations, and Sanjog Gupta who oversees sports. The merged entity, which has a near stranglehold on the rights to India’s biggest crowd-puller, cricket, has a combined digital subscription base of over 50 million across the JioCinema and Hotstar platforms. The joint venture has a portfolio of sports rights for cricket, football and other sports.
Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited, said: “With the establishment of this joint venture, the Indian media and entertainment industry is entering an era of transformation. Our deep creative expertise and relationship with Disney, along with our unparalleled understanding of the Indian consumer, will deliver unparalleled content choices at affordable prices for Indian viewers.”
“This is an exciting moment for our two companies, as well as for Indian consumers, as we create one of the country’s premier entertainment entities through this joint venture,” said Robert A. Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “By joining forces with Reliance, we can expand our presence in this important media market and offer viewers an even more robust portfolio of entertainment, sports content and digital services.”
Shankar added: “The new organization aims to deliver an unprecedented level of creativity, disruption and new consumer experience. As media consumption continues to move towards an integrated digital TV ecosystem, the merger of Viacom18 and Star India presents a unique opportunity to reorient the industry to better serve diverse consumer groups across the country. Together, we aim to build India’s largest integrated media platform that will deliver unparalleled experiences in innovative and exciting ways.”