Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Viacom18 Media Private Limited, and The Walt Disney Company have announced the completion of a merger between Viacom18's media and JioCinema businesses with Star India Private Limited (SIPL), which has been approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), and other regulatory bodies. RIL has invested Rs 11,500 crore (about $1.4 billion) in the joint venture, which is valued at Rs 70,352 crore (roughly $8.5 billion) post-money.

Following the agreement, RIL owns 16.34% of the joint venture, Viacom18 has 46.82%, and Disney has 36.84%. Nita Ambani will be Chairperson, with Uday Shankar as Vice Chairperson. The joint venture brings together well-known media companies in India, such as Star and Colors on television and JioCinema and Hotstar on digital platforms.

"With the foundation of this joint venture, the Indian media and entertainment industry is entering a transformative period. Our extensive creative experience and partnership with Disney, along with our unrivaled grasp of the Indian market, will offer unprecedented programming options at accessible costs for Indian viewers. "I am very excited about the JV's future and wish it all the best," said Mukesh D Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited.

The joint venture intends to provide a diverse range of entertainment and sports content to Indian and international consumers. It operates over 100 TV stations, creates over 30,000 hours of TV content per year, and serves over 50 million digital subscribers through JioCinema and Hotstar. The JV also owns a large portfolio of sports rights, including cricket and football.

"This is an exciting moment for our two companies, as well as India's consumers, as we create one of the country's top entertainment entities through this joint venture," said Robert A. Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. "By joining forces with Reliance, we are able to expand our presence in this important media market and deliver viewers an even more robust portfolio of entertainment, sports content, and digital services."

On August 27, 2024, the CCI authorized the deal, subject to voluntary adjustments offered by the parties. Antitrust authorities in the EU, China, Turkey, South Korea, and Ukraine have also granted regulatory authorization.

The joint venture will be overseen by three CEOs: Kevin Vaz for entertainment across platforms, Kiran Mani for digital operations, and Sanjog Gupta for sports programming. In a separate transaction, RIL bought Paramount Global's 13.01% share in Viacom18 for Rs 4,286 crore. As a result, RIL currently owns 70.49% of Viacom18, Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. has 13.54%, and Bodhi Tree Systems owns 15.97%.