Reliance, Disney finalise $8.5 billion merger of Indian media assets

Reliance Industries and Walt Disney have completed the $8.5 billion merger of their Indian media assets. The merger was finalised on Thursday, and the two media giants’ Indian assets have been split into three divisions, each with its own CEO. (Also read: Delhi techie snags ‘JioHotstar’ domain pre-merger, demands Cambridge education funding for sale to Reliance)
In a joint release shared by the companies, it was mentioned that the newly formed divisions are entertainment, which houses Reliance’s Colors TV channels and Disney’s Star; digital, home to online streaming platforms JioCinema and Hotstar; and sports.
The resulting joint venture is controlled by Reliance Industries Limited and owned 16.34% by RIL, 46.82% by Viacom18 and 36.84% by Disney, according to the release. Nita Ambani will be the Chairperson of the venture, with Uday Shankar taking on the role of the Vice Chairperson.
Former Google executive Kiran Mani, who leads JioCinema, will take charge of the digital organisation. Reuters had reported last month that Disney Hotstar’s CEO Sajith Sivanandan resigned from the role as business integration gathered pace for the merger.
It had been earlier reported that JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar may merge as one streaming app called JioHotstar but there is no clarity on that. The release simply says, “The combination of ‘Star’ and ‘Colors’ on the television side and ‘JioCinema’ and ‘Hotstar’ on the digital front will provide extensive choice of content across entertainment and sports to viewers in India and globally.”
Kevin Vaz, currently the top boss at Reliance’s Viacom 18 Media, will lead the entertainment division. Sanjog Gupta, who heads sports at Disney’s Indian media operations, will take charge of the merged company’s sports division.
The completion of the merger comes after the companies won key approval from India’s antitrust regulator in August. This was after they had to assuage regulatory worries about their grip on broadcasting rights for cricket, India’s favourite sport.
The merger will create India’s biggest entertainment player, with 120 TV channels and two streaming services. Their direct competitors in the field will be Sony, Netflix and Amazon.
(With Reuters inputs)