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The media & entertainment industry is looking forward to the transformative change in media landscape as the tie-up between Disney’s Star India and Reliance Industries’ Viacom18, which kicks off tomorrow, is being hailed as a potential game-changer for both local and global audiences. The merger is poised to create a massive joint venture combining entertainment, sports and digital content.
The deal, which is set to close by mid-2025, will see Reliance Industries take a 56% controlling stake in the joint venture, with 37% held by Star India and 7% by Bodhi Tree Systems, a third-party investment company. The merger, valued at approximately $8.5 billion, aims to disrupt traditional media models, combining Disney’s extensive content library with Reliance’s Jio network, creating a behemoth in the OTT (over-the-top) and digital ad spaces.
Industry leaders are optimistic about the transformative potential of the Disney-Reliance merger, with
experts highlighting its ability to redefine India’s media landscape.
Shrenik Gandhi, Co-founder and CEO of White Rivers Media, sees the alliance setting a powerful benchmark for
strategic collaborations. “The new age of business demands bold, strategic alliances at scale. Collaborations of this magnitude in the world of entertainment—like the merger we are witnessing—set a powerful benchmark. These shifts will redefine how India—and the world—experience entertainment and sports. We are excited to see what the future holds,” Gandhi said.
Sharing his perspective, Amaresh Godbole, CEO of Publicis Groupe India’s Digital Technology Business, said, "Post the merger, I don’t believe there’s a need for creating separate apps for viewing, as that can reduce discovery and cross pollination of content. Instead, a single app which simplifies navigation to desired content, and facilitates personalised discovery would be the way to go. “Best in class UX, AI powered user behaviour learning and personalised recommendations, and LLM powered conversational navigation are some of the ways to achieve this. I would think of a second app if the purpose is different from viewing. For instance, a social/community app for fandoms like cricket, K Dramas, and anime etc with sub-communities which forms an ecosystem to complement the viewing app but requires a different kind of UX design,” he said.
Expressing a similar viewpoint, Ashish Bhasin, founder of The Bhasin Consulting Group, emphasized that the merger is an opportunity for India to become a global content powerhouse, as it will enable significant content investment and consolidating media power. “I think there is a lot that India can contribute in the area of content to the world, just like how today we watch shows from Spain, Latin America, Korea, and other countries. With the kind of storytelling and filmmaking talent we have in India, there is potential for us to become a major source of great content—not just for India, but for the world. When you have a scaled-up player, it really opens up new avenues. I believe that, in general, the quality of content will improve because a larger entity will have the resources to invest in great content. The second implication is that there will be a period of consolidation, both in media (on the broadcaster's side) and, eventually, in newspapers and other media owners,” he said.
He termed it an overall positive development, saying that it presents an opportunity for India to strengthen its presence and flex its muscles on the global stage, while also improving the quality of content available to consumers.
Anil Solanki, Senior Director of Dentsu X, predicted that the merger will disrupt traditional media, boost OTT reach, and intensify competition, ultimately positioning digital platforms as the mainstream. “The merger is expected to be a game-changer for India’s media landscape. Combining Disney’s content library with RIL’s massive Jio network would expand OTT reach, disrupt traditional media, and increase digital ad spends. “Local competitors like Zee-Sony might feel the heat, pushing them to innovate to retain audience share. This merger could redefine content distribution, making digital the new mainstream,” Solanki said.
According to Manesh Swamy, CCO, LS Digital, with this merger there will be a new dominant OTT player that might have the potential to overtake the competition in India, especially through the bundled offerings with Jio’s Mobile and Broadband Services. “The merger would also have an impact on the content creation and distribution synergies. Disney’s global content portfolio with RIL’s expertise in regional content will lead to better localization, diverse and high-quality content for the Indian audience. Also, leveraging Jio’s extensive rural reach could bring affordable streaming to underserved areas and accelerate OTT adaption in these areas,” he shared. He further shared, “This merger might also prompt an aggressive pricing strategy for the competition. Disney+Hotstar has exclusive rights for big sporting events like cricket, making them even stronger. It might expand into other popular sports events. The merger could have an impact on AD sales, monetization and traditional TV, which could lead to a hybrid model combining broadcast TV with digital streaming. Also, with Reliance’s focus on tech, 5G and AI, there will be a possibility of enhanced streaming quality and better user experience. Overall, with this merger, we will be looking at the birth of media powerhouse which has the potential to set new standards in OTT consumption, content creation and bigger advertising opportunities for brands in India.”
Making another point, Ashish Bhasin also said that more consolidations are likely to happen in the world of media and entertainment. “The same trend is likely to occur on the agency side—currently, 4 or 5 agencies account for 80% of advertising in most parts of the world, and Google and Facebook dominate 70-80% of digital advertising. We will begin to see similar consolidation in television as well. “The Zee-Sony merger was a step in that direction, though it didn’t happen. Still, similar moves are likely to follow. So, we are entering an era of consolidation. One key thing to watch is how this will affect advertising pricing. It could give broadcasters significant pricing power. However, prices are always a function of supply and demand, so hopefully, a balance will be struck,” he said.
As a part of their commitment before Competition Commission of India, Viacom18 and Star India Pvt Ltd had recently agreed not to bundle television and OTT advertising slot sales for their cricketing rights—including the Indian Premier League (IPL), the International Cricket Council (ICC), and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)—for the remaining tenure of their existing rights. This agreement was noted by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) while approving the $8.5 billion merger in August this year, with the detailed order published recently. This decision aims to enhance competition in the advertising market and ensure fair access for advertisers. On February 28, 2024, Star India Private Limited (Star India) entered into a binding definitive agreement with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Viacom 18 Media Private Limited (Viacom 18), which is majority owned and controlled by RIL, to form a joint venture that will combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India consisting of entertainment and sports pay TV and free-to-air networks, DTC services, film and television content library and certain production businesses (the Star India Transaction).To establish a strategic direction for the entity, the JV’s Chairperson will be Nita Ambani and vice chairperson will be Uday Shankar. The CCI noted that under ‘Schedule 3 - Commitments in Sports Segment’, the parties (RIL and Walt Disney) have submitted voluntary commitments and also provided certain voluntary clarifications to these commitments “The Parties will not bundle together the TV ad slot sales for all three cricketing rights available with the Parties i.e., IPL, ICC and BCCI for the balance tenure of the existing rights, it noted. The parties will not bundle together OTT ad slot sales for all three cricketing rights available with the Parties i.e., IPL, ICC, and BCCI for the balance
tenure of the existing rights,” the CCI noted while granting the approval in August this year.
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