Reliance reportedly moving in on Disney’s India business

Reliance, the vast and genre-defying company, is reportedly in talks to buy Disney’s Indian operation, including Star India.

Why the Disney purchase matters

Not only are the company’s India assets significant – valued at between $7-10 billion – but it would see Disney moving out of a market that had formed a crucial part of its 2019 purchase of 21st Century Fox’s assets. 

Reliance’s long-standing strategy of offering ‘freebies’ has worked to unbalance one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world in a vital market. It made waves in the telecoms market with the offer of ultra-cheap data, helping it to become India’s biggest telco by subscribers. However, such dominance may well trigger regulatory resistance. 

What’s going on

Bloomberg reports that the two sides have not yet finalized a deal but that a resolution could be found in the coming months. 

• Any deal would confirm the shift in the Indian media landscape accelerated by the Reliance-backed Viacom18 which now holds the streaming rights to Indian Premier League cricket; Disney has the TV rights. 
• The shift has meant that millions of cricket fans abandoned their subscriptions and headed to JioCinema, which has streamed the league to mobile customers for free.
• Still, Disney remains a popular destination for cricket, having just broken the concurrent viewership record for its broadcast of India vs New Zealand, which drew 43m viewers. 

Sourced from Bloomberg