Indian media landscape undergoes seismic shift as Reliance Industries Ltd. and Walt Disney Co. merge to form an $8.5 billion media powerhouse.
Last month, Reliance Industries Ltd., headed by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, shook the Indian media industry by announcing its acquisition of Disney’s India business. This strategic move has birthed an $8.5 billion media giant with a diverse portfolio ranging from film and television production to news and sports content. The merger is poised to reshape India’s streaming market landscape significantly.
Dominating the Streaming Scene
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Before the merger, nearly half of India’s internet users were already engaging with streaming platforms owned by Reliance and Disney. According to data from Virginia-based analytics firm Comscore, in January alone, these platforms collectively attracted 243.5 million users, claiming an impressive 46.5% market share. Hotstar, Disney’s flagship streaming service, led the charge with over 114 million unique visitors, while Reliance’s JioCinema and JioTV collectively garnered more than 129 million visitors during the same period.
Cricket: The Winning Ticket
Streaming cricket has been a cornerstone of success for both Hotstar and Reliance’s platforms. Notably, the Reliance platforms experienced a significant surge in viewership between March and May 2023, fueled by their coverage of the Indian Premier League. Similarly, Hotstar’s viewership skyrocketed to 191 million visitors in November, primarily driven by its exclusive coverage of the Men’s Cricket World Cup. This emphasis on cricket content has solidified the platforms’ positions as leading players in the Indian streaming market.
Disruption and Competition
The Ambani-Disney merger is expected to have far-reaching implications for competitors and the broader media landscape. Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime Video+miniTV, as well as local platforms like Times Internet’s MXPlayer and Zee Entertainment Ltd’s ZEE5, are likely to face intensified competition. Additionally, traditional linear TV broadcasters, such as Sun TV and Sony, may struggle to maintain market share in the face of this consolidation.
Karan Taurani, Senior Vice President of Elara Securities India Pvt., noted in a recent research note that the merged entity will command a significant portion of India’s advertising market. This dominance could potentially squeeze out smaller players and reshape the advertising ecosystem.
In conclusion, the Ambani-Disney merger marks a pivotal moment in India’s media landscape. With an unparalleled content portfolio and vast resources at their disposal, the newly formed media giant is poised to capture a substantial share of the Indian streaming market, setting the stage for a new era of digital entertainment dominance.
With the announcement of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney’s combination of their TV and streaming media businesses, India’s media landscape is about to undergo a seismic transformation. This strategic partnership, estimated to be worth $8.5 billion, is a critical turning point for the industry as it combines the assets of two prominent competitors to become an unmatched force in the entertainment sector. The amalgamated company would get a $1.4 billion injection from Investment Dynamics Reliance, directed by Mukesh Ambani. Disney will keep the remaining 63% of the company. Reliance’s considerable investment demonstrates both its confidence in the partnership’s potential for development and success as well as its commitment to dominating the Indian media sector.
An edge over competitors
With more than 750 million viewers in India and a worldwide presence to serve the country’s diaspora, the combined company is well-positioned to surpass rivals like Sony, Zed Entertainment, and Netflix in the $28 billion Indian media and entertainment market. The Reliance-Disney combination is positioned as a powerful force in the business because to this strategic advantage.
The Dynamics of Leadership
The distinguished businesswoman and Mukesh Ambani’s wife, Nita Ambani, will serve as the merged entity’s board chair, demonstrating Reliance’s commitment to leading the enterprise to unprecedented heights. Uday Shankar, a former senior executive at Disney, will be joining her as vice-chair and contributing his vision and essential business experience to the partnership.
Dedication to India
Bog Iger, CEO of Disney, highlights the value of Reliance’s in-depth knowledge of the Indian market and customer preferences. Through the combination, both businesses will be able to better serve customers by providing a wide range of digital services, entertainment, and sports offerings that are tailored to the changing demands of Indian audiences.
The necessity of strategy
Disney is still dedicated to India in spite of obstacles and demands as it sees the country as a crucial market and a pillar of global expansion. In an internal message, the business reaffirmed its commitment to keeping a strong foothold in India and utilising resources and synergies to propel future growth.
Overcoming Obstacles
Disney is navigating pressure from around the world to improve profitability and streamline operations, so the merger comes at a critical time. Disney is exploring new options for development and resilience as a result of strategy recalibration required by challenges in the Indian market, including competition and market dynamics.
Disney’s experience in India has been marked by both successes and failures. Even while there was some early excitement once Hotstar and Star TV were acquired, difficulties like losing the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) streaming rights forced a reassessment of tactics. Disney’s adaptability and dedication to long-term success are highlighted by their readiness to take lessons from these situations.
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One of Disney’s most successful CEOs, Bob Iger, is coming back to lead the media conglomerate once more.
Disney has reverted the CEO change that caught everyone off guard in 2020, with Bob Iger resuming his position as the CEO and taking the place of Bob Chapek, his replacement. Iger, who also holds the majority of the company’s stock, will now begin a fresh two-year tenure as CEO.
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Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board for Disney stated, “We thank Bob Chapek for his service to Disney over his long career, including navigating the company through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. The Board has concluded that as Disney embarks on an increasingly complex period of industry transformation, Bob Iger is uniquely situated to lead the Company through this pivotal period”.
As per Disney, Susan Arnold will continue serving as the chairperson and there has been no change to the board. Iger led Disney as CEO for 15 years, from 2005 to 2020, before choosing to step aside and transfer control to Bob Chapek.
Notably, Chapek and Disney agreed to a three-year contract extension in June. Iger declared upon his return that he was excited to rejoin Disney and that he was hopeful about the company’s future.
Bob Iger noted, “Disney and its incomparable brands and franchises hold a special place in the hearts of so many people around the globe — most especially in the hearts of our employees, whose dedication to this company and its mission is an inspiration.
I am deeply honored to be asked to again lead this remarkable team, with a clear mission focused on creative excellence to inspire generations through unrivaled, bold storytelling.”
Iger managed Disney’s significant deals with Marvel, Pixar, and 21st Century Fox during his previous stint. The returning CEO also informed the Disney workers, including the cast members, via email that they would learn more about this decision “tomorrow and in coming weeks” from the leadership.
The corporation had not benefited greatly from Chapek’s 11-month tenure as the CEO. The share price of the company decreased by over 40% during his tenure. He was also criticized for not actively opposing Florida’s anti-gay law. Under his leadership, the corporation terminated senior content executive Peter Rice and missed the chance to secure digital streaming rights for the Indian Premier League.
The news was well received by investors, who drove Disney stock up 9% on Monday after it had lost about 36% of its worth this year.
The announcement comes at a pivotal time for Disney. A little more than two weeks have passed since Disney released its Q4 2022 financial results, stating that both its media and park sectors fell short of analyst expectations. Its streaming sector has expanded as more subscribers choose a package option that combines Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and Hulu, but streaming fees are also rising.
In Q3 2022, the business reported revenues of $20.2 billion, falling short by over $1 billion of analyst estimates. Disney’s CFO at the time, Christine McCarthy, stated that the goal for the company is to become profitable by the 2024 fiscal year.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has, in many ways, spelled good news for entertainment services. Around the world, we have seen streaming services, and gaming companies witness a spike in usage as people remain confined to their homes. In keeping with this fashion, Disney+ recently released a statement that they had over 60.5 million active subscribers as of yesterday. Here’s a quick look at how the company’s journey has been, and what this means for other streaming services.
Picking
Up Subscribers
As per
a statement by Bob Chapek, who serves as the CEO of The Walt Disney Company,
Disney+ has over 60.6 million subscribers as of August 4th. The news came out
while discussing or going over the financial report of the company over the
last quarter. The financial report covered the company’s earnings over a
period, ending on June 27th. Since the report did not include subscriber
increase in July, it reported the count as 57.5 million users. However, Chapek
was quick to point out that the streaming service was doing much better than
ever imagined. He also stated that Disney+ was enjoying a growth rate that
initial projections did not predict.
Early
Beginnings
Disney’s
streaming service launched in November 2019. In April of this year, the company
passed the 50-million subscriber milestone. However, this included subscribers
of Hotstar India and free subscribers as a part of the Verizon promotional
campaign. The company first tested its streaming service in the Netherlands,
before launching in both the US and Canada in November. As a part of their
launch, the company’s catalogue included The Mandalorian, and deep archives
consisting of Marvel, Disney and Pixar movies and shows. Furthermore, the channel
also contained 30 seasons of the hit American show- The Simpsons. The service
was made available on iOS, Android, the web, smart TVs, Roku and even through
game consoles.
Journey till Now
Disney+ wasn’t the company’s first experience with streaming, having tried the same with ESPN+. Also, following its acquisition of Fox, Disney has taken over Hulu, while also owning Hotstar. A big selling point for the service was the fact that it would have exclusive rights to Marvel movies after they left the theatre. During their first year, the company spent over $1 billion in generating original content, while planning to increase this $2.5 billion by 2024. Also, the service is a delight for parents as it is family-friendly, having no R-rated content on it.
Push from COVID
The COVID pandemic has helped accelerate the growth of such streaming services greatly. For instance, Netflix was able to add over 10 million subscribers to its already large user base. It now boasts of over 193 million active subscribers. Similarly, ESPN+ too has been growing exponentially, reaching a gross of 8.5 million users as of June this year. Hulu, which is another service owned by Disney grew by 27% to over 35.5 million subscribers, out of which 3.4 million pay for both live television and video on demand. Disney+ has benefitted from the release of Hamilton, which came out during the 4th of July weekend. Chapek also announced that Disney+ would release Mulan on September 4th. However, the premiere access will only be available for people who do not mind paying an additional $29.99.
Fall
in Revenue
Disney’s revenue from its international and
Direct-To-Consumer divisions grew by 2% to eclipse $4 billion. However, the
company’s operating loss also grew to $706 million from the earlier $562
million. Netflix too felt the impact of the pandemic, showing a 10% drop in
share value for their second-quarter. Revenue for the quarter inched close to $6.15
billion, while the operating income ran up to $1.36 billion. Hence, the
company’s net income was $720 million, per-share earnings being $1.59. However,
investors were looking for per-share earnings of $1.81.
Yet, the growth of Disney+ will serve as
encouragement for Disney, which is suffering due to the COVID-19. Most of their
other businesses, including their theme parks, have had to face severe
restrictions due to the ongoing pandemic. Disney’s overall revenue fell by 42%
as a result to $11.8 billion, with earnings per share showing a loss of $2.61.
However, with the Disney+ service looking up, the parent company has much to celebrate. A lot of new titles are up on the line for the company, and subscription is expected to keep growing till the end of this year. It will also be interesting to see how the company adapts to this surge in users and comes out with new original content this year.
Being a cinephile with a love for all things outdoorsy, Athulya never misses a chance to chase inspiring stories or poke fun at things, even when the subject is herself. Currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, she is someone innately interested in technical and scientific research. Music reviews and op-eds define her as they allow her to explore different perspectives. Though sometimes she thinks she makes more sense playing the guitar than she does while writing.
Reportedly, Disney is in talks with AT&T to acquire a 10 per cent stake that the latter holds in the streaming service media company Hulu, in order to expand its control over the company. AT&T carries the 10 per cent stakes in Hulu through its subsidiary WarnerMedia unit. Disney, currently, owns 30 per cent of shares in the streaming service and is already close to acquiring another majority stake in the same from the 21st Century Fox, which owns the rest of 30 per cent shares in the company.
Clearly,
after the acquisition from 21st Century Fox and AT&T, Disney will
be a 70 per cent stake owner in Hulu, and there will be only one
other owner left with 30 per cent of the stakes in Hulu, i.e. the
subsidiary of Comcast, NBCUniversal.
AT&T is in the process of settling off its extreme debts, and in 2018, it had announced that it would pay down at least $20 billion worth of debt in 2019, alone. Selling off the Hulu stakes is one of the major moves that the company has taken in order to settle its debts. It was in 2018 when the company announced that it is interested in selling its 10 per cent of shares it owns in Hulu. According to the reports, the deal between Disney and AT&T may close at $1 billion, which may help the latter to pay down its excessive debt to an extent.
Hulu
has been providing its streaming services since 2007 but has always
failed in front of its rivals including Netflix. But last year, the
company started streaming its original content and gained much
popularity among people. Also, the company registered 8 million new
users in 2018. This increased client base has also increased the
company’s worth. But still, it needs more focus and good content.
Disney already is looking forward to expanding its business in the streaming services and is working on its own home project for it, the Disney+. Disney+ will be a streaming service that will carry exclusive Disney movies and TV shows and will be launched by the end of this year. Initially, the service will be available domestically.
Yashica is a Software Engineer turned Content Writer, who loves to write on social causes and expertise in writing technical stuff. She loves to watch movies and explore new places. She believes that you need to live once before you die. So experimenting with her life and career choices, she is trying to live her life to the fullest.
Disney, a name that can bring a nostalgia among the adults and happiness among the children. The Showman, animator, voice actor as well as the film producer, was the pioneer of the animation industry and cartoon films. The man was a dreamer himself and introduced the world with his the imaginative world, through his cartoons. The creator of the Disneyland did not have an easy path paved for him and had to face difficulties to reach the place where he stands now.
Early Life
Walt Disney was born on 5 December 1901, as Walter Elias Disney, to Elias Disney? and Flora. He had three brothers Herbert, Raymond, Roy and a younger sister Ruth Disney. He was born in Chicago, but his family moved to Marceline, Missouri, in 1906, to do farming. In Marceline, Walt Disney joined the Park School, along with his sister, in late 1909. At the same time, he developed an interest in drawing. He tried copying the front-page cartoons of Ryan Walker in the ‘Appeal to Reason’ newspaper. His interest grew more when he got paid for painting a horse for his neighbour, a retired doctor.
Later, Disney’s family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1911, where his father started a delivery route for ‘The Kansas City Star’ and ‘Kansas City Times’ newspapers. At the time’ Disney joined the Benton Grammar School’ and also helped his father with his work of selling newspapers. Disney also enrolled in a correspondence course in cartooning from Kansas City Art Institute. Meanwhile, he also became familiar with theatre and the world of vaudeville and motion pictures, through one of his classmates, Walter Pfeiffer.
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In 1917, Walter’s father brought their family back to the city, as he became a shareholder of a Chicago jelly producer, the O-Zell Company. In the city, Walter joined the McKinley High School. He also joined the night classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. The first world war was on, and the young Walter wanted to join the army. But, being an under-age, he was not selected. As a result, he forged his age in the certificates to join the Red Cross as the Ambulance Driver. The army posted him in France. There, he met the future founder of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc who was also working as an ambulance driver at that time. Walter never left drawing, in fact, he drew cartoons for the Army newspaper, and also, painted the ambulance with cartoons. After the world war was over, he came back to the US, in October 1919, and joined the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio, as the apprentice artist.
Early Career
Within one year of Walter’s joining at the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio, he had to leave the company, as it was going low at business. In 1920, along with Ub Iwerks, a colleague, from Pesmen-Rubin, he started his own company named as Iwerks-Disney. But, the company failed to accomplish its goals, and both the partners put it on hold, to join Kansas City Film Ad Company, that worked on the cutout animation technique. By the time, Walter found that the cel animation was more promising than the cutout method, and tried to convince his boss A. V. Cauger, to adopt this method of animation. But, failed to do so. He knew the potential of this technique, hence he borrowed a camera and a book, to experiment on the same. He started producing cartoons for a local Newman Theater, in the name of Newman’s Laugh-O-Grams. His cartoons became a huge success and he, along with with a co-worker, from the Film Ad Co, Fred Harman, founded the Laugh-O-Gram Studio, in 1921. He then hired his friend Iwerks, Rudolf Ising and Fred Harman’s brother Hugh.
Under the name of Laugh-O-Gram Studio, he produced Alice’s Wonderland?, taking Virginia Davis in the title role. But, before the completion of the film, his company was already shut due to lack of funds.
Founding Walt Disney Company?
Walter’s failure in business never stopped him from trying. In July 1923, he moved to Hollywood, to his brother Roy, and started looking for a buyer for his 12-minute short film Alice’s Wonderland?. At the same time, Margaret J. Winkler, a film distributor, was also facing struggles with the rights on both her cartoon series’ the ‘Out of the Inkwell’ and ‘Felix the Cat’. Walter needed a buyer and Winkler wanted a new series. So, both of them signed a contract for the Alice’s Wonderland. This contract led to the opening of Disney Brothers Studio?, that became The Walt Disney Company? in future. For the production purpose, Walter persuaded Iwerks and Virginia Davis, along with her family, to move to Hollywood. He also signed a $100 a month contract with Davis.
The Alice series ran successfully, for six long years, and but in those six years, Walter became bored of it. By the time, Winkler’s husband Charles Mintz had taken over Winkler’s work and became more involved in the production. At the end of the year 1927, Disney and Iwerks created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He wanted the producers to pay more for the new series, but, Mintz was not in favour of that. It caused friction between the two, and Walter was left alone, again with his friend Iwerks, with no property rights to Oswald.
Oswald was already a success, so, Disney needed a potentially better character, which could beat Oswald’s character. In May 1928, Disney and Iwerks produced and tested the screening of the short cartoon film, Plane Crazy, featuring Micky Mouse, for the very first time. Although in the first and the second film of Micky Mouse, Disney could not get a distributor, soon, Walter signed a contract with Universal Pictures. In the next films, Walter also included sound and music. Soon, to increase the efficiency and benefits, he hired more lower-paid artists to draw key poses and tried to negotiate with the distributors, on the payments. But, this resulted in Iwerks to leave Disney and join Universal Pictures. This incident also made the other artists leave Walt Disney, as they thought that he cannot handle the company alone without Iwerks.
Disney was at loss, both financially and mentally. But, Columbia Pictures came to the rescue, and Walter signed a contract with the company. This partnership became a massive success, and he started filming the cartoons in colour. In 1932, Walter won his first Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoon). He also received an Honorary Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse.
In 1934, Disney started his first biggest project, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The production cost for the film was $1.5 million and was called a “Disney’s Folly” by the people, as it was an overbudget project and took four years to complete. But, as the movie released, it became the most successful motion picture of 1938 and was critically acclaimed. Due to the second world war, his next two cartoon films, Pinocchio and Fantasia, could not do well, leading his company into debts. Hence, in 1940, he made the company open for its first public stock offering.
During the second world war, Disney produced many cartoon films, based on the war and Training Films Unit. The war also gave birth to the character of Donald Duck. The films based on the war gained enough revenue for his company.
After 1950, Walter produced various successful live-action movies, including Cinderella (1950), Treasure Island (1950), The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952), and Peter Pan (1953), etc.
In July 1954, Disney started constructing a theme park, in Anaheim, 35 miles (56 km) south of the studio. Just in one year, Disneyland was opened in July 1955 and it had 20,000 visitors a day in the coming year.
Personal Life & Death
Disney married, Lillian Bounds, in July 1925. Lillian was also an ink artist, who started working with Disney in 1924. They had two daughters Diane and Sharon (adopted). Lillian Bounds was one of his motivating power, that kept him going.
Disney holds the record of winning the maximum number of Academy Awards by an individual, by winning 22 awards out of 59 nominations. He also earned the Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and multiple Emmy awards, along with other honorary awards.
Walter was a chain smoker, that affected his lungs badly, resulting in a lung cancer. Even after receiving proper treatment, Walter died 10 days after his 65th birthday, in the St. Joseph Hospital, Burbank, California.
Yashica is a Software Engineer turned Content Writer, who loves to write on social causes and expertise in writing technical stuff. She loves to watch movies and explore new places. She believes that you need to live once before you die. So experimenting with her life and career choices, she is trying to live her life to the fullest.
