DISNEY will sell 60% stake to VIACOM18, deal expected to be completed this month

Big news has come regarding VIACOM18 and DISNEY. DISNEY will sell 60% stake to VIACOM18. DISNEY will sell 60% stake in its India unit. The value of DISNEY’s India business is $390 crore. According to the news of Wall Street Journal, DISNEY’s deal is expected to be completed this month.

Earlier last December, Bloomberg News had claimed that Reliance Industries and Walt Disney Company will deal to merge their media operations in India through a cash and stock deal. JioCinema, under the ambit of Reliance’s broadcast company Viacom18, has intensified competition for Disney India and other streaming platforms.

According to Bloomberg’s sources in December, if this deal goes through, Reliance will invest money to secure a minimum 51 percent stake in the unit. Disney will retain residual ownership, although the report did not specify financial terms of the deal.

Disney Hotstar continues to decline

Talking about Disney’s subscribers, there has been a continuous decline in the subscribers of Disney+Hotstar in the last 4 quarters. From 6.13 crore customers in September 2022, the number of customers has fallen to 3.76 crore in September 2023. The decline in the number of subscribers in Disney is due to the lack of content on IPL and HBO as well as tough competition from Jio Cinema.