Disney Talks With Adani And SunTV, Could Sell India Assets (Image: thewaltdisneycompany.com)

Disney, the premier entertainment company, is to sell its India assets. Disney is planning on selling its streaming and television business in India and is in talks with Adani, Kalanithi Maran’s Sun TV network and some private equity firms on this. The discussions on the deal are in the very early stages, the Reuters reported.

The various options that are being looked into by Disney could end with a basket of some of its operations in India – a mix of certain operations for sale in India, sources who are privy to the matter told. The discussions on this may or may not take shape and the deal is in its very early stages. A deal value also has not been let out, the sources told the Reuters.  In July, the entertainment company has been trying to find a partner for joint ventures for its India digital and TV business. None of the players, Disney, Adani nor the Sun TV network has responded to the queries regarding this to the Reuters on this.

The Reliance Industries’ streaming platform, Jio Cinema’s emergence into the entertainment scenario had made the scene more crowded, adding more pressure on Disney. The Jio Cinema is held by billionaire and Industrialist Mukesh Ambani; one of his market tactics of attracting more subscribers was by offering free access to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament; the digital rights of this was earlier in the hands of Disney.

Disney’s India streaming operations had registered a loss of $41.5 million on revenue of $390 million in the last year. As a part of revival plans, Disney is trying to bring back its subscribers by offering free cricket on smartphones, hoping that the move will boost revenue from advertisement and offset the loss of subscriber base.