The grand merger between Disney and Reliance has shocked the whole industry. This is because Disney’s Disney+Hotstar and Reliance’s Jio Cinema are already major giants in the Indian media scene, and their merger will create an entity that will be the biggest in the entire Indian media business.
The reasons that led to this merger are still very unclear, but we believe the following are some of the reasons that contributed to this Rs. 72,000 crores mega media merger.
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Soaring Competition:
Over the past few years, viewers have shifted to OTT Platforms, and that has impacted the competition. Each platform is now pumping out content faster than ever to feed the insatiable hunger of its viewers. Disney somewhere has been lacking in this as there haven’t been many successful Hotstar Specials shows recently. Platforms like SonyLiv, Zee5 and JioCinema have also been getting exclusive rights to digital releases of major Indian films, something Disney hasn’t been able to do.
Loss Of HBO:
When Disney acquired Hotstar, it introduced its flagship content along with streaming shows from HBO. The rights to premiere shows like Game of Thrones gave them a major boost in user count. However, the departure of HBO from Disney+Hotstar took those users with them.
JioCinema’s Upgrade:
Talking about HBO, guess who acquired the streaming rights of HBO? Yes, it was JioCinema. Not only did it gain more audience, but its rights to broadcast IPL also made it a more preferred platform by the Indian audience. Not only that but they were given the digital release rights of many major films that made huge box-office splashes.
OTT and Television:
OTT and Television together make up the Indian Media scene, and Reliance has good control over it, something that Disney would like to harness. At the same time, Disney will absorb JioCinema and all its content. In return, Disney is set to provide the digital release rights to all its content to Reliance.
This deal is one of a kind, merging two giant media firms into one, creating an entity that will dominate the media scene and will prove profitable for all the parties involved.