- By Ashish Singh
- Thu, 29 Feb 2024 01:11 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Reliance and Walt Disney have announced that their media businesses will merge, forming India's largest media entity. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance would control 16.34% of the merged firm, which is worth $8.5 billion, while Disney owns 36.84% of India's largest media merger, and Reliance-backed Viacom18 will own 46.82%.
According to the joint statement, Uday Shankar will serve as vice chairperson and Nita Ambani, the wife of business tycoon Mukesh Ambani, as the head of the entity. As part of its development goal, Reliance, which holds more than 75% of Viacom18, intends to invest $1.4 billion in the joint venture.
Disney stated in an SEC filing that the joint venture will experience a non-cash pre-tax impairment in the current quarter of between $1.8 billion and $2.4 billion, of which "approximately half reflects a write-down of the net assets of Star India."
Viewers would see JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, two massive streaming services, as one after this merger. It will also feature numerous TV networks that Disney controls in addition to films, further Indian projects, and other assets. The company will also serve as the digital home for HBO, Showtime, and NBCUniversal in addition to JioCinema and Hotstar. This merger will serve over 750 million viewers all over India, the company announced.
Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani stated, “We have always respected Disney as the best media group globally and are very excited at forming this strategic joint venture that will help us pool our extensive resources, creative prowess, and market insights to deliver unparalleled content at affordable prices to audiences across the nation. We welcome Disney as a key partner of Reliance group.”
The announcement comes after Sony announced last month that it was dropping its plan to merge with Zee Entertainment, ending a two-year acquisition process that would have created a $10 billion media empire in the South Asian market.
Hotstar and JioCinema both increase their efforts to reach viewers, and they hire top Disney executives to improve content delivery on their platforms. Viacom 18 overtook Disney in acquiring IPL streaming rights for a five-year term for $3 billion, which is enough to bury Hotstar's long-standing records. It will be an intriguing collaboration between two previously independent firms. With the new arrangement, cricket digital and TV rights for all ICC and IPL matches from 2023 to 2027 will be exclusively acquired.
