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.
