Reliance In Talks To Buy Majority Stake In Disney's Star Indian Business

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Over the past few months, there have been many reports that Disney has been looking at its options with regards to its business in India, called Disney Star, formerly known as Star India, which it acquired when it purchased 20th Century Fox in 2019. Disney Star includes the streaming service Disney+ Hotstar, film studios such as Star Studios, an array of over seventy linear channels, and much more.

In the past few months, Disney has been having talks with many different businesses, including Sony, Blackstone, Sun TV and New Delhi TV, about potentially selling some or all of its assets in India. According to Bloomberg , Reliance Industries Ltd, which is owned by Asia’s richest tycoon Mukesh Ambani, is getting close to completing a deal to buy Disney Star in a cash and stock deal. Disney is valuing its Indian business at around $10 billion (down from the $15 billion it was worth before Disney purchased it in 2019), and Reliance is valuing the business between $7 and $8 billion.

Disney is still looking to keep a minority stake in the company, but it would sell a controlling stake in Disney Star. But it still may keep hold of some assets. There might also be some regulatory issues that could cause delays with the buyout. We’ve seen with other large mergers that the Indian government might require some assets to be sold off separately.

It’s expected that the announcement of a deal could be made as early as next month. Disney does have a quarterly financial investors call on November 8th 2024, so announcing this deal, could help Disney offset the costs of buying out Comcast’s stake in Hulu, which is estimated to cost around $9 billion. Allowing Disney to basically sell off one business to cover its purchase, allowing Disney to focus on its core markets. Reliance would merge some of its media units into Disney Star.

JioCinema, which Reliance runs, has been a thorn in Disney’s side, having paid billions of dollars to get the Indian Premiere Cricket league rights, which resulted in Disney+ Hotstar losing over 20 million subscribers. Plus, recently, JioCinema also picked up the rights to HBO content, which was then removed from Disney+ Hotstar.

It’s unknown if Disney+ Hotstar will continue in its current setup or be merged with JioCinema. Could Disney+ just operate separately in India, without the Hotstar branding and content, which could move over to JioCinema? There are certainly more questions than answers right now.

So, what does this mean for Disney+ and Hulu around the world?

At the moment, officially, no deal has been announced, and no details on what’s actually going to happen have been revealed. There are many variables and potential outcomes from Disney selling its Indian assets. Selling Star India wouldn’t likely have much impact outside India, other than a potential move away from the Star branding and maybe changing the name of Disney+ Hotstar in some countries like Indonesia.

If Disney does sell off Disney Star, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the Star hub within Disney+ around the world, rebranded to Hulu once Disney completes its purchase from Comcast. Disney has rebranded many linear channels to Star in countries worldwide, which might be another issue that results in more rebranding. While in Latin America, Disney runs a streaming service called, Star+, which is a Hulu & ESPN+ hybrid, but there is always hope Disney unifies Star+ and Disney+ in that region, to be similar to how Disney+ works internationally. The Star brand has only been used by Disney since 2019, and arguably, the brand is very generic and could easily be changed.

Disney is still running Hotstar as a separate streaming service in many countries, including Canada, Singapore and the UK, so those could be included in the deal. Hulu does have some Hotstar content from India, so this could continue to be licensed or eventually removed.

If Disney+ Hotstar was completely sold off, it would obviously have a significant impact on the global subscriber numbers for Disney+. However, Wall Street may prefer this, since a Hotstar subscriber generally brings in less than 60 cents per month, compared to over $7 outside of India. Investors may also like a more leaner Disney, focused on its core brands.

For Disney+ Hotstar subscribers, it does bring up many questions about what happens could be merged together and what the future is for its content. Internationally, it brings the Star branding into question. But ultimately, Disney does seem like its less interested in running a vast linear, streaming and studio business in India, instead treating it like more other countries in the world.

It’s important to note, that no final decision has been made, and Disney could still decide to hold onto the assets, but the Star Studios and linear channels, being sold off does seem much more likely.

Disney Exploring Possible Sale Of Indian Business Home To Star Life And Star Select

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Walt Disney (DIS.N) is exploring options to sell or find a joint venture partner for its India digital and TV business, a source with direct knowledge said on Wednesday.

The talks are in a "very, very nascent" stage and no potential buyer or partner has been approached so far, and it remains unclear how the process will pan out, the person added.

"Talks have begun internally (on) what makes sense to do," said the source, adding discussions were being driven by executives at Disney headquarters in the U.S.

Disney did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company's shares closed up 1.6% on Tuesday.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report news of Disney's talks and said the company had reached out to at least one bank about ways to help the India business grow, while sharing some of the costs.

The discussions come at a time when Disney has faced increasing pressure due to the emergence of Reliance Industries' (RELI.NS) streaming platform JioCinema, run by Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani. He has been marketing his streaming platform by offering free access to Indian Premier League cricket tournament, digital rights of which were earlier with Disney.

Research firm CLSA has estimated Disney+ Hotstar's subscriber base shrank by nearly 5 million users in India after it lost the digital rights for IPL.

Reliance's broadcast venture Viacom18, which runs JioCinema, also struck a deal with Warner Bros in April for HBO and other popular content such as Succession. Several of these top rated shows earlier aired in India on the Disney platform.

Viacom18's shareholders include Reliance, Paramount Global (PARA.O) as well as Bodhi Tree, which is a joint venture between James Murdoch and a former Star India executive, Uday Shankar.

Disney's India business comprises the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service and Star India, which it took over when it acquired the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox in 2019.

The source, who declined to be named as the talks are confidential, said it will be difficult to find an outright buyer in India as the enterprise value of the India business was seen around $15-16 billion when Disney took over Fox's business.

Star India, which was rebranded as Disney Star last year, encompasses dozens of TV channels and a stake in a movie production company.

Disney, like its peers in streaming and the wider media industry, is cutting costs as macro economic headwinds weigh on its advertising revenue and subscriber growth.

In February, the company said it would cut 7,000 jobs as part of an effort to save $5.5 billion in costs in a sweeping restructuring of the company.

Conspiracy Theory: Suicide Or Murder??? A Look Into The Mysterious Passing Of Indian Actor Sushant Singh Rajput

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Sushant Singh Rajput was an Indian actor who appeared in both Bollywood films and television shows. He made his acting debut in the television show “Pavitra Rishta” in 2009, and went on to star in several successful films including “Kai Po Che!”, “MS Dhoni: The Untold Story”, and “Chhichhore”.

Rajput was a talented and popular actor. He was also known for his philanthropy and dedication to his craft. He was widely appreciated for his versatility as an actor and his ability to portray a wide range of characters. He received critical acclaim for his performances and was widely regarded as one of the most promising actors in the industry.

Tragically, Sushant Singh Rajput passed away on June 14, 2020, at the age of 34. His death was met with shock and sadness by his many fans and colleagues in the entertainment industry. The circumstances surrounding his death are still the subject of the ongoing investigation.

‘Sushant Singh Rajput was murdered’, claims Cooper Hospital mortuary servant

More than two years have passed since the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. Now the person who conducted Sushant’s postmortem claimed that the actor did not commit suicide but was murdered.

The Mumbai Police had termed it a suicide and the family suspected it to be a murder. Now there has been a new twist in this case. Roopkumar Shah, who claimed to have conducted Sushant Singh’s postmortem, has told that the actor did not commit suicide but was murdered.

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He also claimed that he had spoken to his higher officials and asked them to record the postmortem as per rules, but asked them to take pictures and hand over the body to the police. However, questions are also being raised about whether Roopkumar Shah was involved in the team that conducted the postmortem or not.

Sushant’s father on his son’s death

Sushant’s body was found in his Apartment in Bandra on June 14, 2020. Earlier, the case was being investigated by the Mumbai Police. The case was later handed over to the CBI. The investigation report of this case has not come yet.

Sushant’s body was found in his Apartment in Bandra on June 14, 2020. Earlier, the case was being investigated by the Mumbai Police. The case was later handed over to the CBI. The investigation report of this case has not come yet.

Recently during a conversation, Sushant’s father KK Singh told a TV channel, ‘My child cannot commit suicide. He was not stupid, he was courageous, and he was fast-paced. He didn’t have the temperament to commit suicide. We have been watching him since childhood and we know what a brave and bold person he was.

Sushant’s father KK Singh had alleged that his son was murdered and Riya Chakraborty was also involved in this murder. Rhea Chakraborty was questioned by the investigating agencies in the case. Along with the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Control Bureau are also involved in this investigation. The case is with the CBI and so far the investigating agency has not disclosed the cause of death.

There were 2-3 marks on the neck

Rupkumar Shah, a mortuary servant of Cooper Hospital in Mumbai, told the TV9 channel, “When Sushant Singh Rajput died, we found five bodies in Cooper Hospital for postmortem. One of those five bodies was a VIP body. When we went to conduct the postmortem, it was found that he was Sushant and there were many marks on his body.

There were also two-three marks on his neck. The postmortem needed to be recorded, but the higher authorities had only asked for pictures of the body to be taken. We did the same as per the order. ‘

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This is not suicide, it is murder

He further says, “When I first saw Sushant’s body, I immediately told my seniors that I think it is not suicide but murder. I even told them that we should act according to the rules. However, my seniors told me to take pictures as soon as possible and hand over the body to the police. This was the reason why the postmortem was done at night. ‘

On the other hand, Dr Sachin Sonawane, who conducted Sushant’s postmortem, has said that Roopkumar Shah was not part of his team.

Sushant Singh Rajput – Tribute from Fans & Justice Awaited!

In the wake of his death, Rajput’s fans and colleagues paid tribute to him, remembering him as a talented and dedicated actor who brought joy and entertainment to the lives of countless people. His death also shone a spotlight on mental health issues and the importance of seeking help when facing challenges and struggles.

Two and a half years after Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, it still remains a mystery. Sushant’s career and life were cut short, and he will be deeply missed by those who knew him and his many fans around the world. His talent and contributions to the entertainment industry will not be forgotten. Fans are still asking the justice for Sushant through various social media campaigns.

Development Hell: The Pending The Third Season To Star Life's The Evil Eye

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The Evil Eye was the first and one of the few attempts Africa got to supernatural on Star Life alongside A Magical Love Story which came amidst a pandemic with the second season was also filmed in such a climate.

Since its abrupt end, some viewers can't stop boasting about the show that it got to a point where they advertised fake repeats and even listed Bengali adaptation Nojor (pictured above) as The Evil Eye season 3.

Ever since A Magical Love Story ended, there hasn't been a site of venomous snake or anything supernatural on Star Life even on Zee World as regional stations are the closest to viewing them dubbed while others are distributed in their original language with subtitles.

 

Amidst the phasing out of these shows sources state that Star Life picked up Bold And Beautiful and The Evil Doom which were scheduled for a late 2021 to mid 2022 release which never came to pass.

Joining that trio was the fake third season of The Evil Eye which is now considered a new season but supposedly on a new Indian entertainment channel that was set to replace Star Life.

This supposed channel was said to focus on Bengali which is similar to Hindi in an attempt to "differentiate" the offering from StarPlus but hey some of the content from Bengali are remakes to the Hindi content and vice versa.

 

The thing about this was Disney Star the owners of these brands already operated a Bengali channel Star Jalsha which is niche I mean every market has their niche. In South Africa, it is Tsonga, Sepedi and Siswati as Zulu, Afrikaans and Ndebele dominate the region.

The question would have to be why trade one group for another if the plan was to replace wouldn't it be better to source areas like Telegu, Tamil and Malayalam as they also reside in the Bollywood community under the Disney Star.

Zee TV had every chance to launch such a channel but instead opted for reruns channel, Zee One.

Development Hell: Countdown To The List Of Bollywood Channels Coming Soon

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Just going a through a list of concepts which was discussed, rumoured, delayed or potentially scrapped. Some of Bollywood channels currently seen on DStv and Openview were derived from several other concepts.

But I'm not here to discuss that but share a list of other channels and it goes as follows:

 

1. eBella/eBolly
The defunct channel was said to make a comeback as a replacement to one of the current Indian channels on Openview. The channel was said to offer Bollywood films something you hardly get on eMovies and other entertainment.

2. &TV
&TV is a Hindi language entertainment channel operated by Zee Entertainment Enterprises home to shows viewers would have come across on Zee TV such as Begusarai, The Heir and on eVOD Dayan, Destructive Beauty. The reasons for its absence has to do with Zee TV as they licence content from the brand and with both being operated by the same company the two are in sink.

The only known regions to provide it a standalone is the US and Asia.

 

3. Star Maa
Star Maa is a Telegu entertainment channel operated by Star India which broadcasts dramas, reality shows and movies. The channel was said to launch on DStv Indian.

4. Untitled Zee World repeats channel 1
Around the time Zee Bollynova launched on the defunct Kwesé TV and before Zee One existed. Rumour had it that MultiChoice was looking to add a reruns channel for their #1 Bollywood entertainment channel which could have been scrapped for Zee Alem.

5. Star Gold
Star Gold is the brand name Star India gives to their movie channels. This was part of list of possible movie channels on DStv but the channel be viewed on StarSat.

6. Untitled Zee World repeats channel 2
Close to the launch of Zee Alem in Ethiopia, Zee Entertainment Enterprises revealed in an interview that they were open to launching some regional channels. The second repeats channel was said to cater for Zulu, Swahili and Hausa viewers.

 

7. Life OK/Utsav
Disney+ is scheduled to launch in South Africa in the coming month and Star branding has been replaced with Utsav in most parts of Europe where the African feed operates. The question boiled down to the potential brand name for Star Life and its programming.

8. Zee Naija
Unlike most other Zee channels, this brand wouldn't cater entirely to repeats as there was a bunch of local content being planned such as Dance Nigeria Dance, Deceptive Measures and The Passion For Love.

 

9. Untitled Star Life movie channel
Unlike Star Gold, the movie channel would have been dubbed in English and would give the main channel sometime to source out other programming.

10. Bollytunes & Zee Music
Remember that TV show that had no purpose to Zee World as the program aired between shows well it was said to have its own channel one for English audiences another for Indian subscribers on DStv.

11. Untitled eMovies channel
eMedia Investments was rumoured to launch a Bollywood pop-up channel for movies before the pandemic hit and there's been no updates in that regard except that the possibility of a third movie channel.

 

12. Zindagi
Zindagi was the name of a brand Zee Entertainment Enterprises gave to their regional offering. What this channel did was air regional content kind of like the African adaptation of Mehek but it could have been scrapped as the brand is not active.

13. Zee Zest
Zee Zest is a Hindi entertainment channel operated by Zee Entertainment Enterprises and compared to all other channels on the list this one airs lifestyle and reality shows. It was said to launch on DStv Indian when it was known as Living Foodz.

 

14. Zee World and Zee One's replacements
The parent company of the channels are minority owners of the brands and rumour had it that the brands would include more content from Sony Pictures India as well as adapt to Sony branding.

15. Zee News (likely scrapped)
Zee News is a Hindi news channel operated by Essel Group that is also in charge of another news station on DStv, WION.

16. Zee Oldies
A channel for older dramas in the 90s to early 00s

Updated: Utsav Next Target Could Be The Star Channels Currently On DStv, StarSat, Zuku TV And Openview + Disney Channel And Disney Junior Could Go Off Air Sooner Than Expected As Disney Shifts Its Focus Towards Streaming

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Later this week, Disney and Star in India announced that they would exit from the English general entertainment industry which resulted in the termination of most of their channels with Hindi channels taking their spot.

The Walt Disney Company revealed plans to close 100 international Disney channels before the FY22 with more Disney Channels expected to close in Europe as streaming looks to be the brands top priority.

The likely reason for Star's demise is due to Disney+ since The Walt Disney Company took the Star branding for their streaming service so Star India keeping it for English viewers would only cause confusion.

Earlier this year, the UK & Europe rebranded their Star channels to Utsav with the changes applicable to viewers of those regions. Of course, there's several signs that the branding will be duplicated in more countries.

Vijay TV is the only channel internationally to use that adapt to that branding and Star India is seemingly testing out the Utsav branding through the StarPlus and Star Gold channel in Africa.

Star Life being the only English channel in Africa will have to create some distance from Star India or join the party seeing that they're exiting the audience it's catered for.

The European counterpart manages the Star channels in Africa so it seems logical for the Utsav branding to enter the region the question would have to be why delay the switch, could Star Life have some involvement perhaps?

The Disney Africa Facebook page stopped promoting content from Disney Channel and moved it to the Disney Africa Channels page (formerly Disney Junior Africa) with the main page likely to be used as a portal to promote Disney+.

The UK, Asia, Italy and Australia already lost Disney Channel and Disney Junior so it doesn't seem far fetched to think the same fate awaits the Disney Channels in Africa.

The Walt Disney Company is set out to be another Netflix. Even if that means cutting the cord of several channels in markets where cable is dominating the circuit.

In November, Disney Channel and Disney Junior have seemingly hit the reruns button with the main channel airing reruns of Gigantosaurus.

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Disney Is Renaming The Star Channels In Netherlands, What Does This Mean For StarPlus And The Other Star Channels In Africa?

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When Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, it obtained Star India, a hugely successful broadcasting company based in India, which has a network of 60 channels in eight languages, that reaches approximately 790 million viewers a month across India and more than 100 countries.

With it’s streaming service, Hotstar being rebranded as Disney+ Hotstar in India in March.

Disney officially revealed details of how it was planning the branding of “Star” internationally at December’s Investor Day event, which will see Star added as a new sixth tier within Disney+ in February in many regions including Europe, Australia, Canada and in Asia. At the same time, Star+ is launching in Latin America as its own platform with live sports. With many Fox channels in Latin America will also be rebranded “Star”.

Disney Africa is likely to do the same as Europe with latching the best of Star on Disney+ since no one in this market can pay for a lot of streaming services.

According to Dutch television provider Ziggo, Disney will be rebranding its Hindi channels, Star Plus and Star Gold channels in the Netherlands to Utsav Plus and Utsav Gold. This rebranding will be taking effect from February 1st.

The name Utsav is likely based on Star Utsav which is one of Star India's linear channels which is currently being used for archived content. It was available in UK for 2 years before becoming a reruns channel.

Star India already operates channels in Africa such as StarPlus, Star Vijay and Star Life through StarTimes, Platco Digital's OpenView and MultiChoice's DStv. It wouldn't be shocking if the name was dropped in favour of Utsav. The one in India might do the same it's currently unknown at this point. Readers have been wondering how Star would replace FOX in Africa if the Star branding was already being used so there's your answer.

The rebranding is being done so Disney can use the “Star” brand as part of Disney+ in the Netherlands, which is coming on February 23rd.

There's still no news on when or if Disney+ will roll out in Africa so chances are will have to wait until at least 2022/3 I mean they could take longer since they're still rolling out in other parts of Europe and the fact that there's contracts they have with other distributors so they're waiting for some of them to expire to begin rolling out Disney+.

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