The government has approved the transfer of licenses for non-news and current affairs T.V channels of Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd to Star India Pvt Ltd. This approval has been given basis the terms put forward by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
On February 28, 2024, Reliance and Disney announced the formation of a strategic joint venture. It will bring together their entertainment brands in India. In this deal, Reliance Industries’ subsidiary company, Viacom18, will be merged with Disney’s Indian unit ‘Star India’.
The new company formed by this merger will be the country’s largest television and digital streaming company. Earlier, on August 30, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had approved the merger of Disney and Reliance Entertainment. The new company formed after the merger will have 75 crore viewers across India.
Advantage of Reliance-Disney Merger
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger recently said that there is a lot of competition in the market. Hence, the merger will create a bigger company which will help it remain on top in the market. The new company will have the largest OTT customer base. Disney Hotstar has about 3.6 crore paying subscribers and Reliance has 1.5 crore. That means, a total of 5.1 crore subscribers.
Partnership with Reliance will allow Disney to grow its business and reduce risk. This will give Mukesh Ambani a strong hold on the entertainment sector worth 28 billion dollars. The new company will be able to compete with companies like Sony and Netflix.
Share in the advertising market after the merger.
The new merger will have a 40% share of the Indian advertising market in the TV and streaming segments. The new company will have a virtual monopoly in cricket advertising revenue. Apart from cricket, there will also be broadcast rights for the Wimbledon Tennis Championship, Moto GP, and English Premier League.
Effect of the Reliance-Disney Merger on Public
India is a huge market for entertainment services. In such a situation, American streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon have been attracted to the Indian market. Disney and Reliance are also on OTT, which is facing competition from Netflix and Amazon.
Both these companies can launch cheap plans to increase the user base. The audience will get direct benefit from this. Concurrently, Disney’s viewers will have access to Reliance’s content and Reliance’s viewers will have access to Disney’s content.
