Credit: Inside the MagicThe Walt Disney Company is making some major moves involving its Disney+ streaming service.
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The Walt Disney Company has signed a non-binding term sheet with Reliance Industries that allows for the two to merge their India operations. The completion of this merger would create one of India’s biggest entertainment corporations in history. Deadline reports on the new deal, revealing more information about the merger. The deal is expected to be completed by February 2024, though it’s being reported that Reliance group is hoping to complete it as early as January.
These events take place following The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Star India’s Hotstar platform in 2019. Disney gained control of Hotstar as part of Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox and its assets for over $70 billion. Disney’s ownership of Hotstar has allowed Disney+ to flourish even more, helping the relatively new streaming service to reach over 350 million subscribers by 2024. Disney integrated Disney+ into the Hotsar service as an add-on, which boosted overall numbers.
Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger has made it a top priority to make Disney+ the best it can be, both for the consumer and the company.
During The Walt Disney Company’s earnings call this November, Iger stated that he wanted Disney to stay in India but also wanted to “strengthen our hand, improve the bottom line.” Disney+ Hotstar is Disney’s biggest streaming service in terms of overall users, but it actually lost a significant number of subscribers over the course of 2022. This was not good news for Disney or Disney+, with the streaming service unable to turn a profit since its launch back in 2019. In 2023, Disney+ has still not become profitable, but Iger is determined to correct the ship.
“We were bullish on Indian subscribers’ propensity to pay. That’s not worked out,” an internal source told Reuters.
Under the new deal, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance group now owns 51% of the merged entity. The Walt Disney Company now holds the remaining 49% of shares. The agreement was finalized in London in December, with Bob Iger’s advisor, Kevin Mayer, representing The Walt Disney Company and Ambani’s advisor, Manoj Modi, representing Reliance.
The Walt Disney Company launched its Disney+ streaming service back in 2019, forever changing the landscape of the streaming wars. While Disney faced some stiff competition against industry giants like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix, Disney was able to quickly grab a large share of the market with Disney+, thanks in large part to its wide collection of titles. Disney+ is home to an incredible selection of television shows, movies, and original content ranging from properties and franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel, National Geographic, and Pixar.
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