Reliance’s Viacom18 gets govt approval for non-news, current affairs TV channel license transfer to Disney’s Star India

Reliance Industries Ltd announced on Saturday, September 28, 2024, that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has approved the transfer of licenses of non news and current affairs TV channels of Reliance’s Viacom18 Media Private Limited to Disney’s Star India Private Limited through an order on Friday, September 27, 2024, subject to conditions laid out by the competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

This comes nearly a month after the CCI approved the merger between Reliance and Disney’s entertainment businesses worth more than ₹70,000 crore or $8.5 billion on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.

The merger to create potentially India’s largest streaming entity (Both television and digital) with a combined viewership of more than 750 million across 120 TV channels and two streaming services, was first announced in a February 28, 2024 media release titled “Reliance and Disney Announce Strategic Joint Venture to Bring Together the Most Compelling and Engaging Entertainment Brands in India.”

The merger was between Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Viacom18 Media Private Limited (Viacom18), and Digital18 Media Limited, with The Walt Disney Company’s (TWDC) Star India Private Limited (SIPL) and Star Television Productions Limited (STPL).

Reliance gets a 63.16% stake in the combined entity which will compete with Netflix, Amazon, and Sony. Walt Disney gets the remaining 36.84% stake, according to the earlier media release.

The merger is expected to get completed by the final quarter of 2024 or by the first quarter of 2025, and Nita Ambani will become the chairperson of the newly formed entity and former Walt Disney executive Uday Shankar becoming the vice chairperson.