Published: 30th Aug 2024
By: Value Research
On August 28, 2024, the CCI (Competition Commission of India) approved the merger between the entertainment divisions of Reliance Industries (Viacom18) and Walt Disney (Disney+Hotstar). The $8.5 billion deal is poised to create India’s largest company in the digital entertainment sector.
Post the merger, Viacom18 (Reliance’s step-down subsidiary) will have a stake of 46.82% in the entity. Reliance, on its own, will hold 16.34% stake, making its combined majority stake of 63%. Disney will own the rest 36.84%.
The joint venture will see the Reliance Group (it is the majority stakeholder) hold exclusive streaming and TV rights for ICC and IPL until 2027, and for popular content from HBO, Marvel, National Geographic and Warner Bros.
The merged entity is also expected to capture a major chunk of India’s growing OTT market. Presently, Disney+Hotstar enjoys a dominant 26% market share, which will be aided by Reliance’s Jio Cinema’s 7% share, piping other rivals including Amazon (23%), Netflix (13%) and Zee5 (11%).
The merged players have been on a downward slope. While Viacom18 saw a drop of almost 86% in its EBITDA during FY24, Disney+Hotstar’s losses more than doubled during FY23. With Reliance overseeing the JV, will it see a turnaround? That remains to be seen.