Reliance-Disney pact may set stage for consolidation

The combined entity will gain from the English language content and content from entertainment channels they run

- Lata Jha

India’s cluttered video streaming market could be in for some consolidation, if the sale of a majority of Disney’s India assets to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd sails through.

The proposed transaction will give Reliance access to Disney’s massive libraries across the English language, including its Marvel catalogue. Meanwhile, Reliance already has content from HBO, and is bullish on regional languages, including the four South Indian languages, as well as Marathi and Bengali. Sports will be a priority as well.

The combined RelianceDisney streaming entity will be three to four times bigger in terms of total hours of programming than Netflix, and may even look at acquiring smaller, niche language-specific entities that are struggling to survive.

While there has been speculation around Walt Disney selling its business in India, Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger recently said the company would like to stay on in the Indian market.