Media conglomerate Viacom18 Media has become a subsidiary of Reliance Industries effective December 30, 2024, after the conversion of over 24.61 crore compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) into an equivalent number of equity shares. Earlier, Viacom18 Media had been a material subsidiary of Network18 Media & Investments Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
Disney+ Hotstar reported its biggest decline in paid subscribers to date - a fall of 3.8 million subscribers, or 6 per cent of its total - in the October-December period. The drop in numbers came after two warnings by the company that Hotstar's paid subscriber base would shrink as it didn't have streaming rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the 2023-27 media cycle. The IPL would start on April 1 this year and continue till May 28.
Walt Disney Company is keen to capitalise on the subcontinents' burgeoning mobile space to reach new audiences.
Analysts have given a thumbs up to the Reliance Industries (RIL) and Walt Disney Co. (Disney) proposed a joint venture (JV). The stock of the Mukesh Ambani-controlled company gained nearly 1.5 per cent on Thursday to Rs 2,952 levels as compared to the S&P BSE Sensex that traded marginally weak, down 0.2 per cent to 72,172 levels in intra-day trades.
Paramount Global has agreed to sell its 13 per cent stake in its Indian TV business to Reliance Industries for Rs 4,286 crore, the Indian firm said on Thursday. In a stock exchange filing, Reliance said it has signed a binding agreement with two subsidiaries of Paramount Global to acquire 13.01 per cent equity stake of Viacom 18 Media Private Limited held by Paramount Global. Similarly, in a filing on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paramount Global said the closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, as well as the completion of a previously announced joint venture involving Reliance, Viacom18 and Star Disney.
It also said that to make it easier for people to subscribe, Disney+ Hotstar VIP has tied up with telecom players Jio and Airtel.
Siddharth Roy Kapur's RKF aims to raise around $50 million by offering up to a 50 per cent stake in the company.
Dubai-based siblings Jainam and Jivika, the owners of jiohotstar.com domain, have decided to transfer it to Reliance "free of cost", resting speculations on social media platforms. The story of the internet domain name, which grabbed a lot of attention on social media platforms in the recent past, ended with "seva and kindness", according to the duo.
The government has cleared 19 foreign investment proposals, including that of Walt Disney Company and Reckitt Benckiser (India), entailing total investment of Rs 2,326.72 crore (Rs 23.26 billion).
Walt Disney has laid off about 250 employees and replaced them with Indians holding H1-B visas.
Walt Disney finds another platform for its cartoons -- your mobile.
Shah Rukh Khan hopes to showcase the good things in life in the second season of the chat show, Ted Talks.
The BCCI is set for a windfall of gigantic proportions as the IPL broadcast rights (TV and digital) could fetch the Board up to US $5 billion for the next five-year cycle (2023-2027) while some high-profile interest is being seen in the bidding process for the two new teams.
Unprecedented bribery charges, farewells, separation, failed union, monumental mergers and record-breaking IPOs, along with a healthy dose of online happenings in the form of spat and lessons in customer care, corporate India saw it all in 2024.
Having survived the imported Chinese toys that nearly killed the Indian toy industry, the Rs 2,000-crore (Rs 20 billion) domestic toy industry has come a long way.
The move will catapult Disney as the country's largest media and entertainment broadcaster, with over $1.3 billion of additional India revenue.
Much of the discussion is happening at a "family level, not a corporate level". That means it is an Ambani or a Goenka in direct talks with Johar.
Issues related with intellectual property rights, including piracy of films and software, figured prominently during the India-US CEO Forum in New Delhi attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.
Disney Star won the coveted IPL Indian sub-continent TV rights for a whopping Rs 23,575 crore, while Viacom18 grabbed the digital rights with a bid of Rs 20,500 crore at the media rights auction on Monday.
Over the years, UTV has added businesses to become an integrated media house. UTV's Ronnie Screwvala shares his vision in this interview describing UTV's itinerary to success.
The 4 week online learning programme is available in English and Hindi, and will soon be offered in some regional languages.
Chanda Kochhar is among the three Indians in Time's Most Influential list.
Star earned ad revenues of around Rs 30 billion during last year's IPL. Whether it hits last year's figure will depend on how the economy picks up during the festival season.
Culver Max Entertainment, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), has terminated merger agreements with Zee Entertainment, which could have otherwise created a USD 10 billion media enterprise in the country.
Using Facebook video or YouTube for content distribution is not new.
Verma, who was born in India, grew up in Ohio and the Central Valley of California. She served as an audience development and content strategist on the Biden-Harris campaign, the transition team said on Thursday.
Walt Disney staff were reportedly replaced with Indians holding H-1B.
Amazon's rivalry in India with oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries looks set to head to the cricket field, where they will likely battle media heavyweights for telecast rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) with its hundreds of millions of viewers.
The chairman of the Essel Group says he has settled 91.2 per cent of the estimated Rs 11,000 crore debt on the group's books.
"We will fight to protect every last American life," Trump
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has pegged the base price for the combined IPL media rights at Rs 32,890 crore, nearly double the Rs 16,347 that Star Disney paid five years ago. Experts say that at these levels, there does not seem to be any profit-and-loss logic at play. It is more about what premium broadcasting companies are ready to spend for market share dominance. They point out that due to competition, they expect the final price to hit Rs 40,000-50,000 crore.
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The network also unveiled a new brand identity for Star Sports across six channels and has renamed all the ESPN channels, subsequent to the buyout of ESPN Inc's stake in their 16 year old joint venture ESPN STAR Sports.
Guess who else features on the Variety500 list?
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He started a fund with Rs 800 crore and made several investments.
'While they are a long way off from the box office muscle that the Khans enjoy, a host of young stars are entering the Rs 100 crore club that was earlier the reserve of the seniors. This year will see a lot of young stars in action.'
RSVP plans to make movies on Sam Manekshaw and Ram Jethmalani.
The move by these broadcasters comes close on the heels of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India announcing a review of its earlier tariff order, announced six months ago, which among others capped the prices for la carte channels.
According to nCore Games, FAU-G will be based on real scenarios encountered by the Indian security forces to deal with both domestic and foreign threats, with its first level set against the Galwan Valley backdrop. The start-up is planning to monetise the venture through in-game purchase where people will be able to buy better items in the game like better armour for an enhanced gaming experience.
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