The $8.5 billion merger of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney’s Indian media assets is now complete. Following the completion of the merger on Thursday, the Indian assets of the two media behemoths were divided into three divisions, each with a CEO.
Reliance – Disney Merger
The newly established divisions are entertainment, which includes Reliance’s Colors TV channels and Disney’s Star; digital, which includes online streaming services JioCinema and Hotstar; and sports, according to a joint statement released by the companies.
According to the release, Reliance Industries Limited controls the resulting joint venture, while RIL owns 16.34%, Viacom18 owns 46.82%, and Disney owns 36.84%. Uday Shankar will serve as the venture’s vice-chairperson, while Nita Ambani will serve as its chairperson.
JioCinema CEO Resigned From Its Position
Former Google executive Kiran Mani, who leads JioCinema, will take charge of the digital organization. Reuters reported last month that Disney Hotstar’s CEO Sajith Sivanandan resigned from the role as business integration gathered pace for the merger.
Will There Be JioHotstar?
There has been speculation that JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar might combine to form JioHotstar, a streaming app, but this has not been confirmed. According to the release, “JioCinema and Hotstar on the digital front and Star and Colors on the television side will provide viewers in India and around the world a wide variety of content across entertainment and sports.”
Full Story Of Reliance – Disney Merger
The entertainment division will be led by Kevin Vaz, who is currently the top executive at Viacom 18 Media, a division of Reliance. The sports division of the combined company will be led by Sanjog Gupta, who currently oversees sports for Disney’s Indian media operations. Following the companies’ significant approval from India’s antitrust regulator in August, the merger was finalized.
This came after they had to allay regulatory concerns regarding their control over the broadcasting rights for cricket, the national sport of India.
With 120 TV channels and two streaming services, the combined company will become the largest entertainment player in India. Amazon, Netflix, and Sony will be their main rivals in this market.
