Reliance Industries and Disney have finalized an $8.5 billion media merger, combining Disney’s Star India with Reliance’s Viacom18 and streaming platforms JioCinema and Hotstar. This transformative deal establishes one of India’s largest media and entertainment entities, designed to reshape the industry with its unparalleled content portfolio and extensive market reach.
The joint venture integrates over 100 TV channels and produces more than 30,000 hours of content annually. For fiscal year 2024, the combined entity reported revenue of $3.1 billion. Additionally, the platform boasts a digital subscriber base exceeding 50 million across JioCinema and Hotstar and holds rights to major sports properties, including cricket and football.
The ownership structure is as follows: Reliance Industries holds 16.34%, Viacom18 owns 46.82%, and Disney retains 36.84%. As part of the merger, Reliance acquired Paramount Global’s 13.01% stake in Viacom18 for $507 million. Paramount stated: “The sale of our Viacom18 stake to Reliance provides an attractive financial return, is helpful to our balance sheet, and improves leverage. We also look forward to the continuation of our licensing agreement with Viacom18 as we monetize Paramount’s world-class content globally.”
The deal, which Disney began exploring in July 2023, received regulatory approvals from multiple jurisdictions, including India, the EU, China, Turkey, South Korea, and Ukraine. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, emphasized the venture’s significance: “With the formation of this JV, the Indian media and entertainment industry is entering a transformational era. Our deep creative expertise and relationship with Disney, along with our unmatched understanding of the Indian consumer, will ensure unparalleled content choices at affordable prices for Indian viewers.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger echoed these sentiments: “This is an exciting moment for our two companies, as well as for India’s consumers, as we create one of the top entertainment entities in the country through this joint venture. By joining forces with Reliance, we are able to expand our presence in this important media market and deliver viewers an even more robust portfolio of entertainment, sports content, and digital services.”
Reliance infused $1.4 billion in growth capital into the venture. As India’s largest private sector company, Reliance recorded $120 billion in revenue, $17 billion in cash profit, and $9.5 billion in net profit for FY 2024. Disney, which reported $88.9 billion in revenue for FY 2023, faced challenges related to its India business, including $1.54 billion in restructuring charges in Q4 2024 and a forecasted $636 million adverse impact for fiscal 2025.
Leadership roles in the joint venture are clearly defined: Nita Ambani serves as chair, while Uday Shankar, as vice chair, provides strategic guidance. Kevin Vaz leads entertainment, Kiran Mani oversees digital operations, and Sanjog Gupta heads sports. Uday Shankar described the vision: “The new organization is committed to deliver an unprecedented level of creativity, disruption, and new-age consumer experience. As media consumption continues to move to an integrated TV-digital ecosystem, the merger of Viacom18 and Star India offers a unique opportunity to reorient the industry to better serve diverse cohorts of consumers across the country.”
The venture capitalizes on the synergy between Reliance’s consumer insights and Disney’s global expertise. Shankar elaborated: “Together, we aim to build India’s largest integrated media platform, which will deliver unparalleled experiences in innovative and exciting ways.” James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, co-founders of Bodhi Tree Systems, expressed enthusiasm about the venture’s potential to disrupt the Indian media landscape.
This merger marks the beginning of a new era for India’s entertainment sector, with the joint venture poised to deliver affordable, high-quality, and diverse content experiences to a broad and evolving audience.
