The Walt Disney Co. has entered into a joint venture with India’s largest private sector company to create one of the biggest entertainment companies in the Southeast Asian country.
The Burbank entertainment and media giant will own nearly 37% of the venture Disney Star, Reliance Industries Ltd. will own about 16% and Viacom18 Media Private Ltd. will own about 47%. (Reliance is a majority owner of Viacom18.)
Reliance will invest $1.4 billion into the joint venture for its growth.
“The joint venture is home to the most iconic and engaging media brands in India across TV and digital platforms,” the companies said in a release from Nov. 14. “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 venture operates over 100 TV channels and produces 30,000-plus hours of TV entertainment content annually.
The JioCinema and Hotstar digital platforms have an aggregate subscription base of over 50 million. The joint venture holds a portfolio of sports rights across cricket, football and other sports, according to the release.
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger called the formation of the joint venture “an exciting moment” for the two companies.
“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,” Iger said in a statement.
The joint venture will be led by three chief executives: Kevin Vaz will head the entertainment organization across all platforms; Kiran Mani will take charge of the combined digital organization while Sanjog Gupta will lead the combined sports organization.
