According to inside reports, Walt Disney is reportedly in discussions with potential buyers for its India streaming and television business which includes Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. There is speculation that Jio Cinema might acquire Star TV Channels and Disney+ Hotstar OTT rights as part of these talks. The entertainment giant is exploring various alternatives including selling the entire Disney Star business or a profitable transaction that includes assets such as sports rights and Disney+ Hotstar’s regional streaming service.
This move comes after Disney lost the streaming rights to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament to Viacom18, also a partnership between Paramount Global and Reliance. Disney had previously considered buying a stake in the business from Reliance. However, as of now, no official announcement has been made.
In a related development, Disney Star has agreed to license TV rights for International Cricket Council matches in 2022 to ZEE Entertainment for four years while Disney+ Hotstar will retain the digital rights.
JioCinema, backed by Reliance, gained significant viewership during the IPL final with 32 million concurrent viewers in May. After securing a multi-year deal to stream Warner Bros content, JioCinema has started charging for certain content and also offers Discovery’s exclusive content in India. If it acquires the rights to Disney+ Hotstar; it could potentially become the leading OTT platform in India.