Disney Announces Huge Media Merger. Here's What We Know.

If you follow along with Walt Disney Company news, you’re probably familiar with Disney’s attempts to better relationships with India.

Disney World

When Disney bought 21st Century Fox, it also acquired the Star India network. That gave Disney a new audience of over 700 million people. India has proven a challenge for Disney, though, particularly after the company lost streaming rights for the Indian Premier League cricket matches. Disney is trying to improve business in India, though. Reportedly, the company is in discussions with Reliance Industries, the company that beat Disney for those rights. The two companies seem to be considering combining their businesses in the country, giving 51% ownership to Reliance. Now, we’ve gotten an update on the situation!

According to Reuters, Reliance and Disney announced an $8.5 billion entertainment merger, creating an “billion entertainment juggernaut far ahead of rivals in the world’s most populous nation.” Reliance is headed by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, and will contribute $1.4 billion in the merger, holding a more than 63% stake. Disney will own the rest, the companies said in a joint statement.

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This allows Disney a shot to retain users in India as well as right the financial strain caused by Disney’s loss of cricket media rights.

The merger values Disney’s business in India to be lower than in the past, when Disney attained the Star India Network. Then, Disney was valued at roughly $15 billion, and now, it’s valued at around $3 billion. Although, a senior Disney source told Reuters that the value of Disney’s assets in India was closer to $4.3 billion when accounting for synergies.

Cinderella Castle

The merged entertainment industry will have 120 TV channels, two streaming platforms, and TV and streaming cricket rights for key tournaments. This is expected to create a “sports behemoth” in India, with over 750 million expected viewers.

Cinderella Castle

An analyst at India’s Prabhudas Lilladher, Jinesh Joshi, said, “This merger will give Reliance great bargaining power when it comes to negotiating advertisement contracts … For Disney, coming together with a bigger player, in terms of (financial) pockets, will give it a cash cushion.”

Magic Kingdom

“Reliance has a deep understanding of the Indian market and consumer,” Disney CEO Bog Iger said in a statement, and the deal will allow “us to better serve consumers with a broad portfolio of digital services and entertainment and sports.”

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With this merger officially taking place, we’re left to wonder if Disney will continue to build a reputation in India. It’s already suspected among Disney fans that a new park could be put in India, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated with any and all Disney news, so make sure to follow along so that you’re always in the loop and never miss a thing.