The Indian streaming landscape has been changing in the recent past. Streaming service providers, including major names such as Netflix and Disney+Hotstar, appear to be struggling to acquire active monthly users.
Reliance Industries is in talks to acquire Walt Disney’s 29.8 percent stake in the subscription-based satellite television service provider Tata Play, according to a recent report by the Business Standard. Besides Walt Disney, the remaining shares in the company are held by Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, and Temasek, a Singapore-based investment firm.
Reliance has been making significant efforts to expand its footprint in the entertainment landscape. It acquired the rights to the cricket tournament, Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022 and also the rights to stream HBO’s content on JioCinema in 2023. More recently, the company has reportedly signed a non-binding term sheet with Disney India with a 51:49 split in Reliance’s favor. As a part of this deal between the two, Disney India has agreed to sell 60% of its business to Viacom 18 (a subsidiary of Reliance) on a preliminary basis.
The Indian streaming landscape has been changing in the recent past. Streaming service providers appear to be struggling to acquire active monthly users. For instance, according to data collated by the investment bank UBS’s Evidence Lab, Netflix saw 0% growth in monthly active users in India in the fourth quarter of 2023. Similarly, while Disney+Hotstar added 0.7 million subscribers as of December 2023, in the previous quarters it lost 7% (September 2023) and 23.6% (July 2023). The addition of subscribers this quarter fell in line with the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup. The company has even attributed the ICC’s programming as one of the reasons for a reduction in its operating losses.
As per the Business Standard report, if the negotiations are successful, it would extend the reach of JioCinema across the Tata Play platform. Given the decline in streaming services in India, this might be a useful step in attracting more users to the Jio platform and strengthening its position against competitors.
