Joint Venture ready to lead the transformation of India’s digital streaming
eco-system and grow the linear TV space across entertainment and sports
Reliance has invested ₹ 11,500 crore growth capital in the Joint Venture
Reliance to operate and consolidate the Joint Venture
Mrs. Nita M. Ambani to be the Chairperson
Mumbai / Burbank, Calif., 14th November 2024: Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”), Viacom 18
Media Private Limited (“Viacom18”) and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) ( “Disney”) today
announced that following the approval by the Hon’ble NCLT Mumbai, Competition Commission of
India and other regulatory authorities, the merger of the media and JioCinema businesses of
Viacom18 into Star India Private Limited (“SIPL”) has become effective (the “JV”). In addition, RIL
has invested ₹ 11,500 crore (~US$ 1.4 billion) into the JV for its growth. The JV has allotted shares
to Viacom18 and RIL as consideration for the assets and cash, respectively.
The transaction values the JV at ₹ 70,352 crore (~US$ 8.5 billion) on a post-money basis, excluding
synergies. At the closing of the transactions noted above, the JV is controlled by RIL and owned
16.34% by RIL, 46.82% by Viacom18 and 36.84% by Disney.
Mrs. Nita M. Ambani will be the Chairperson of the JV, with Mr. Uday Shankar as Vice Chairperson
providing strategic guidance to the JV.
The JV is home to the most iconic and engaging media brands in India across TV and digital
platforms. The combination of ‘Star’ and ‘Colors’ on the television side and ‘JioCinema’ and
‘Hotstar’ on the digital front will provide extensive choice of content across entertainment and
sports to viewers in India and globally.
The formation of the JV will herald a new era in India’s entertainment industry for consumers. This
unique joint venture of Reliance and Disney brings together the companies’ content creation and
curation prowess, world-class digital streaming capabilities along with a digital first approach that
will help the JV deliver unparallelled content choices at affordable prices to Indian viewers and
the Indian diaspora globally.
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The JV will be one of the largest Media & Entertainment companies in India with pro forma
combined revenue of approximately ₹ 26,000 crore (~US$ 3.1 billion) for the fiscal year ended in
March 2024. The JV operates over 100 TV channels and produces 30,000+ hours of TV
entertainment content annually. The JioCinema and Hotstar digital platforms have an aggregate
subscription base of over 50 million. The JV holds a portfolio of sports rights across cricket, football
and other sports.
The Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) approved the transaction on 27 August 2024,
subject to the compliance with certain voluntary modifications offered by the parties. Apart from
the CCI, the transaction has been approved by anti-trust authorities in the EU, China, Turkey,
South Korea and Ukraine.
Speaking about the JV, Mr. Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director of Reliance
Industries Limited, said, “With the formation of this JV, the Indian media and entertainment
industry is entering a transformational era. Our deep creative expertise and relationship with
Disney, along with our unmatched understanding of the Indian consumer will ensure unparalleled
content choices at affordable prices for Indian viewers. I am very excited about the JV’s future
and wish it all the success.”
“This is an exciting moment for our two companies, as well as for India’s consumers, as we create
one of the top entertainment entities in the country through this joint venture,” said Mr. Robert A.
Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “By joining forces with Reliance, we
are able to expand our presence in this important media market and deliver viewers an even more
robust portfolio of entertainment, sports content, and digital services.”
Mr. Uday Shankar, Co-Founder of Bodhi Tree Systems, said, “James and I are excited to be
partners in this journey to disrupt the media and entertainment industry in India. The new
organisation is committed to deliver an unprecedented level of creativity, disruption and new age
consumer experience. As media consumption continues to move to an integrated TV-digital
ecosystem, the merger of Viacom18 and Star India offers a unique opportunity to reorient the
industry to better serve diverse cohorts of consumers across the country. Together, we aim to
build India’s largest integrated media platform which will deliver unparalleled experiences in
innovative and exciting ways.”
The JV will be spearheaded by three CEOs who will lead the company into a new era of ambition
and disruption. Kevin Vaz will head the entertainment organisation across platforms. Kiran Mani
will take charge of the combined digital organization. Sanjog Gupta will lead the combined sports
organisation. Together, they will leverage their unique strengths to cultivate a bold, transformative
vision that challenges the status quo and sets new standards in the industry.
In a separate transaction, RIL has bought out Paramount Global’s entire stake of 13.01% in
Viacom18 for ₹ 4,286 crore. As a result, Viacom18 is owned 70.49% by RIL, 13.54% by
Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. and 15.97% by Bodhi Tree Systems, on a fully-diluted basis.
