Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani, who is renowned for his Reliance Industries, is once again planning to establish the largest media empire in India. The largest media empire will be set up with around 100 TV channels and two streaming platforms by merging of Jio Cinema and Disney Hotsar, two domestic giants in the digital streaming space.
As per the Economics Times report, negotiations to merge Reliance Industries with Walt Disney are currently in the next phase. Additionally, Star India and Viacom18’s merger agreement is almost done.
Jio Cinema had previously purchased the IPL rights from Disney Plus Hotstar, which was a direct competitor of Jio Cinema. Following the IPL and FIFA World Cup, there was a significant drop in Hotstar subscribers. On the other side Disney Hotstar acquired the rights of the Asia Cup and Cricket World Cup from Jio Cinema. Now that Mukesh Ambani’s company is collaborating with Disney Hotstar, it is vital to mention that the company was suffering significant losses in the competition with Jio Cinema.
According to the reports, following the Star-Viacom18 merger, Reliance could hold a 51 % stake. Additionally, Disney could get 40 % of the shares, meaning that Reliance Industries would hold the majority of ownership.
Additionally, Netflix and Amazon Prime will face difficulties in competing with Jio Cinema’s potential low-cost plans. Jio may also launch low-cost add-on plans with Jio recharge, targeted at both telecom and OTT users.
