Mumbai13 hours ago
- copy link
Disney Star India and Reliance’s Viacom-18 have now become one. This also includes Disney Hotstar and Jio Cinema. Both these companies announced this on Thursday, November 14. After this merger, it has become the largest entertainment network in the country.
Disney-Reliance Entertainment now has 75 crore viewers with 2 over the top i.e., OTT and 120 channels. Reliance has invested Rs 11,500 crore for this joint venture. The merger process was going on for the last one year.
Both the companies said- ‘This deal has been done for Rs 70,352 crore. Reliance will hold 63.16% stake and Disney will hold 36.84% stake in the company formed after the merger. The chairperson of this new company will be Nita Ambani. The vice chairperson will be Uday Shankar. These will give strategic guidance to the company.
Three CEOs will lead the business
Three CEOs will lead this joint venture. All three will handle the responsibilities of different verticals. Kevin Vaz will head the entertainment organization. Kiran Mani will take charge of the digital organization. Sanjog Gupta will lead the sports organization.
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said, ‘With this joint venture, the Indian media and entertainment industry is entering a transformational era. I am very excited about the future of the joint venture and wish it success.
Joint Venture has 2 digital platforms
In this mega merger, 80 channels of Disney Star and 40 channels of Reliance Viacom18 will be added. That means, there will be a total of 120 channels. However, some of these channels can be closed. Both also have OTT apps – Disney Hotstar and Jio Cinema.
Viacom 18 also has the TV rights for BCCI managed cricket matches, while Disney Star has the TV rights to broadcast IPL till 2027. Reliance has the rights to show IPL on its OTT platform Jio Cinema.
Reliance’s news channels will not be part of this deal, as they come under Network 18 Group. The joint venture will also be given exclusive rights to distribute Disney films and productions in India along with licensing of over 30,000 Disney content assets.
- This joint venture has a revenue of ₹ 26,000 crore in FY 2024.
- The joint venture produces 30,000+ hours of TV content annually.
- JioCinema and Hotstar digital platforms have 5 crore subscribers each.
The name of the new OTT app may be Jio Star.
Reliance has also registered the domain name JioStar.com before the merger. In the coming days, Jio Cinema and Hotstar app can be combined, which will be named JioStar. However, the company has not given this information officially.
Reliance’s market cap is more than Rs 17 lakh crore
Reliance is one of the largest private sector companies in India. Its market cap is Rs 17,15,498.91 crore. Reliance currently operates in hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, advanced materials and composites, renewable energy (solar and hydrogen), digital services and retail sectors.
