Disney CEO: India Merger with Reliance 'Best of Both worlds'

Bob Iger, the chief executive of Walt Disney Co., claimed that the $8.5 billion Indian media merger agreement with Reliance Industries represents the "best of both worlds" for the multinational entertainment conglomerate, as it will increase earnings while lowering risk in the area.

"Our goal was to remain in India. When we bought 21st Century Fox's assets, we made a significant investment in India. We are among the largest media outlets in India.

However, even though Brazil is the world's most populated nation and we felt compelled to be there as a result, we are aware of the difficulties in that market," Iger stated on March 5 at a Morgan Stanley investor conference.

Reliance-Disney Joint Venture to Create Major Indian TV and Streaming Platform

One of India's biggest TV and Digital streaming platforms will be formed by the joint venture between Reliance Industries and Disney, which was announced on February 28. The venture would merge the operations of Viacom18 and Star India.

Reliance Industries said that to create a "world-class" leader in sports and entertainment, it intends to combine the digital streaming and television assets of the two firms in India.

The firm would be mostly owned by RIL and its group companies, which will also contribute Rs 11,500 crore ($1.4 billion) towards its expansion plan. On a post-money basis, the combined company will be valued at Rs 70,352 crore ($8.5 billion).

Disney+ Hotstar, which presently leads India's subscription-based video streaming market with 38.3 million subscribers, and JioCinema, a major player in the ad-supported video streaming market, will both have a single owner after the deal closes. These are two of India's largest streaming platforms.

Analysts at brokerage firm Bernstein predict that the merged company will account for around 85% of India's video-streaming market.

Bob Iger on Reliance Deal: Seizing Opportunity in India's Growing Media Market

In India, one of the media and entertainment economies with the highest rate of growth in the world, Iger stated that the deal will enable the US entertainment behemoth to acquire a portion of a larger media organization.

Sort of the best of all worlds. We continue to be heavily involved in the market. We get to have an opportunity to expand a business and minimize the risk of doing so with Reliance, who is a really good partner," 

Since losing access to essential content offerings that were crucial to its early growth in India—IPL streaming rights and premium HBO content,

For which Viacom18's JioCinema currently holds the rights—the Walt Disney-owned streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar has struggled to stop the exodus of paying subscribers over the past year.

In the most recent reported quarter that ended on December 30, 2023, Disney+ Hotstar added 0.7 million paid subscribers, benefiting from increased usage during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

This comes after four consecutive quarters of subscriber decline, which saw the streaming service's subscriber base drop from 61.3 million in October 2022 to 37.6 million in October 2023.