A naukri.com initiative
Inc42
1w
323
Image Credit: Inc42
Reliance-Disney Merger: What’s Happening Behind The Scenes?
- Reliance and Disney India signed binding agreements earlier this year to create a joint venture, merging Viacom18 with Star India Private Limited, with more than 100 TV channels in total and two of the country's most prominent OTT platforms – Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema. However, recent industry chatters hint that the merger could be finalised as soon as this month.
- RIL is set to infuse INR 11,500 Cr into the joint venture, leading to stiffer competition. A top priority for RIL and Disney is to manage the integration of two massive organisations with distinct corporate cultures; key figures like Sidharth Shakdher left prior to the merger.
- JioCinema has often been criticised by users for lags and other technical shortcomings. Hence, before expanding its content offerings, JioCinema aims to ramp up its tech infrastructure to meet the expectations of its growing user base.
- RIL is planning to retain Disney+ Hotstar as the sole streaming platform, absorbing JioCinema in the process. This reshuffle positions Disney+ Hotstar as the primary streaming service for the combined entity, with plans to stream the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Disney+ Hotstar.
- RIL is cautious about content spending, as this segment takes quite a long time to generate RoI. In terms of releasing original content, RIL is likely to follow a more conservative approach, similar to Netflix's recent strategy, which focusses on the acquisition of films and reality shows.
- To enhance its content library and expand market reach, Viacom18 has entered into an exclusive content partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery. JioCinema has also experimented with original show formats, such as “Indian Angels”.
- According to RIL’s annual report, JioCinema reached 225 Mn monthly active users, while Disney+ Hotstar led the way with 333 Mn monthly active users in Q4 2023. Network18’s recent earnings further underscore JioCinema’s two-fold quarter-on-quarter growth in its paid subscriber base.
- While Disney+ Hotstar is the primary streaming service, the competition with international giants like Netflix and Amazon will be worth watching. However, from the content perspective, Jio Cinema’s offers a broader range compared to Hotstar, and with Hotstar’s library now included, this variety will only expand further.
- The key challenges will lie in user experience and technology. Platforms like Jio Cinema need to ensure that their technology meets the standards set by global players like Amazon and Netflix.
- Since the pandemic, there has been a notable shift towards online content consumption, and India is no exception. The merger may well place the newly-formed RIL-Disney in a dominant position.
Read Full Article
19 Likes
For uninterrupted reading, download the app