JioStar Is Coming Soon: What To Expect From Reliance-Disney Mega-Merger
India’s media and entertainment industry is on the cusp of a change that the mega-merger between Disney’s Star India and Reliance Industries’ Viacom18 and Disney Star is almost complete with the new company, JioStar.
It is set to launch by November 13 (today) and this $8.5 billion deal will create a behemoth in the OTT and digital ad spaces.
Nita Ambani, wife of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani will head the joint venture with Uday Shankar taking on the role of vice-chairperson.
The merged entity will combine Disney‘s extensive content library with Reliance’s Jio network which may create a massive joint venture. Reliance Industries will hold a 56% controlling stake with 37% held by Star India and 7% by Bodhi Tree Systems.
K Madhavan, the country manager and president of Disney Star, alongside Sajith Sivanandan, the head of Disney+ Hotstar made their exit last month. The head of distribution and international markets at Disney Star Gurjeev Kapoor has decided to step down. Ferzad Palia, business head at JioCinema is all set to resign from his role.
This merger is set to create India’s largest media conglomerate by bringing together two streaming platforms JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, along with 120 television channels.
Also, read| Dubai Siblings Offer JioHotstar Domain To Reliance For Free Amid Controversy
The merger will consolidate the media rights for IPL and ICC matches as well as the bilateral rights from the cricket boards of India, Australia, and South Africa. Apart from cricket, the combined entity will possess valuable sports assets such as Wimbledon, the Pro Kabaddi League, MotoGP and the English Premier League (EPL).
The parties will also divest seven television channels, which include Hungama and Super Hungama. This is in compliance with the conditional permission granted by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the merger of the two companies.
The companies have voluntarily agreed that post-merger, the combined entity will refrain from bundling TV and OTT ad slots for IPL, ICC, and BCCI cricketing rights until the current rights period ends and the merger has received approvals from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).
NCLT gave the green light for the merger in August and MIB approved the transfer of licenses of television channels of Viacom 18 Media to Star India ahead of the merger with Disney in September. The approval was given for the transfer of licenses relating to non-news and current affairs television channels.
Also, read | Reliance-Disney $8.5B Merger Raises Concerns Over Competition: CCI
