Merger of Disney, Reliance to face antitrust review

A merger of Walt Disney’s India business and Reliance’s media unit Viacom18 would create an entertainment powerhouse in the world’s most populous nation but is likely to face an intense antitrust review.

Here’s a breakdown of their assets:

Television

• Viacom18 has 38 television channels, including Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV.
• Disney Star, a household name in India, has about 80 channels and the brand is known for Hindi family dramas as well as Hollywood movie hits.
• Both companies’ channels span general entertainment, sports, children’s TV, documentaries and lifestyle programmes. They also cover several regional languages.
• Viacom18 has the TV rights for domestic and international matches run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Disney has TV rights for the popular Indian Premier League (IPL) until 2027.

Streaming

• Reliance’s JioCinema and Disney’s Hotstar would have a combined library of 200,000 plus hours of content that includes television dramas, movies and sport events.
• Disney’s Hotstar was the second-most downloaded video streaming app in India during 2022 after MX Player, according to a report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and EY.
• Disney’s streaming content includes global blockbusters, movies from the Marvel universe as well as National Geographic documentaries. It streamed seven out of the top 15 most-watched original shows in India in 2022, according to a report by media consulting firm Ormax.
• Disney has the digital rights for International Cricket Council’s matches in India until 2027, while Ambani’s JioCinema now has the rights for IPL after outbidding Disney.
• JioCinema recently struck deals with The Pokemon Company to stream content and in April signed a deal with Warner Bros to bring more Hollywood and international content on its platform.

Reuters