Walt Disney has held preliminary talks with potential buyers for its streaming and television businesses in India, including billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, according to people familiar with the matter.
The US entertainment giant has discussed a range of options with potential suitors, from a deal for the entire Disney Star business to a piecemeal transaction that could include a combination of its assets including sports rights and regional streaming service Disney+ Hotstar, the people said. .
Disney has been weighing strategic options for the company, including an outright sale or setting up a joint venture, Bloomberg News reported in July after the Indian unit lost its streaming rights for the Indian Premier League cricket tournament to Viacom18, a partnership between Paramount Global and dependence. Disney had approached Reliance about potentially buying a stake in the company, a person familiar with the matter said at the time.
The talks are ongoing and may not lead to a deal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Disney could decide to hold on to the assets longer, she added. A Disney representative declined to comment.
A Reliance spokesperson said the company is “continually evaluating various options” and will make required disclosures as necessary, without commenting further.
Although Disney Star has seen a decline in subscribers after losing the IPL streaming rights, it has not divested its entire cricket business, securing the television rights until 2027. Last year, it agreed to license the TV rights for International Cricket Council men’s matches to ZEE Entertainment. for four years, with Disney+ Hotstar retaining the digital rights.
JioCinema, the streaming service backed by Reliance, generated a record 32 million concurrent viewers in May for the IPL final, which was free to watch on the platform. The company has started charging for certain content on the platform after signing a multi-year pact to sell exclusive content from Warner Bros. Discovery to stream in India.
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