“Case Study of the Jio and Hotstar Merger: The Future of Streaming in

Emerging Markets”

History of JIO cinema – A streaming platform:

Jio Cinema, launched in 2016 as part of Reliance Jio's broader digital ecosystem, was
introduced as a video streaming service exclusively for Jio network users. The platform was
designed to complement Jio’s telecom services, providing users with a range of on-demand
content, including movies, TV shows, music videos, and short films. Initially, Jio Cinema
focused on Bollywood films and regional Indian cinema, aligning with Jio’s goal to cater to
diverse Indian audiences.
Over time, Jio Cinema expanded its offerings, adding more genres, languages, and content
categories. The platform gained further traction by offering exclusive rights to certain film
releases and regional content, which helped it stand out in the competitive Indian
streaming market. The service also integrated well with Jio’s other offerings, such as Jio TV
and Jio Saavan, forming a cohesive entertainment ecosystem for Jio subscribers.
In recent years, Jio Cinema has continued to innovate, acquiring streaming rights for sports
events, including the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2023. This move significantly boosted
Jio Cinema’s viewership, as IPL is one of the most-watched sporting events in India.

History of Disney + Hotstar – A streaming platform:

Disney+ Hotstar, originally launched as "Hotstar" by Star India in 2015, was created as a
digital streaming platform to cater to India’s growing appetite for online video content.
Developed initially to stream Star India's content library, including popular Indian TV shows
and Bollywood movies, Hotstar quickly expanded to include live sports, especially the Indian
Premier League (IPL), which significantly boosted its viewership.
By 2017, Hotstar had become one of India’s largest streaming platforms. Its success
attracted attention from The Walt Disney Company, which acquired Star India as part of its
21st Century Fox acquisition in 2019. Following this acquisition, Disney rebranded Hotstar to
"Disney+ Hotstar" in 2020, integrating its global content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star
Wars, and National Geographic into the platform. This new content mix, along with its
regional shows, Bollywood films, and popular live sports, made Disney+ Hotstar a unique
and comprehensive streaming service for Indian audiences.
Disney+ Hotstar has since expanded to international markets, targeting countries with large
South Asian communities, like Indonesia and Malaysia. It continues to play a significant role
in Disney’s global streaming strategy, given the large user base in India, and now stands as a
key player in Disney’s digital portfolio.
RISING SUCCESS OF JIOCINEMA
Jio Cinema, a strategic player in the swiftly evolving streaming landscape. At that time, Jio
Cinema was under the ownership of Viacom18 and made a game-changing move by
securing the streaming rights to the FIFA World Cup, investing approximately INR 450 crore.
More notably, Jio Cinema decided to stream the event for free, setting the stage for its
remarkable journey. Viacom18 Sports’ innovative strategy of providing free access to the
FIFA World Cup 2022 for all telecom subscribers proved highly successful, as digital
viewership for this prestigious football event surpassed traditional TV viewership for the
First time in India. Following the completion of a merger with Viacom18 on 17 April 2023,
Jio Cinema soared to even greater heights. Earlier in 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery and
Viacom18 forged a multi-year agreement, designating Jio Cinema as the exclusive platform
for HBO, Max Original, and Warner Bros. content in India. A similar partnership was
established with NBC Universal, introducing NBCU and TV series to the Indian audience.
This came to be a turning point for the Streaming Services in India, as a large share of the
audience would now, undoubtedly, be drawn to this all-encompassing service.
HOTSTAR’S CHALLENGES AND WALT DISNEY’S POSITION
Nonetheless, Disney+ Hotstar faced significant challenges, concerning Bob Iger’s ambitious
$5.5 billion cost-cutting plan, which posed a risk of losing over a quarter of its subscribers in
2023. The platform’s loss of key sports rights, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), and
subsequent loss of HBO added the attrition concerns. The platform, originally known as
Hotstar in India, was set to lose access to HBO content starting March 31, a substantial
blow. Star India’s partnership with HBO, initiated in 2015, had granted Hotstar users’ access
to immensely popular shows like Game of Thrones, Succession, The Wire, and, more
recently, The Last of Us, among others. This marked the second major setback for Disney+
Hotstar, the first being the loss of IPL streaming rights to Viacom18, which resulted in a
notable drop of 3.8 million subscribers in the December quarter, reducing the total paying
customer base to 57.5 million. The subscriber base stood at 40.4 million at the end of June
2023. Between September 2022 and June 2023, the platform had lost a whopping 20
million-plus subscribe as visualised in Exhibit 2.
The repercussions of these losses were also felt by Disney’s parent company, Walt Disney
Co. In the second quarter, Disney witnessed an exodus of 12.5 million subscribers from
Disney+ Hotstar in India. Although Disney exceeded Wall Street’s earnings per share targets,
it fell short on revenue. Disney reported total revenue of $22.3 billion, a 4 per cent increase
from the previous year, and operating income of $3.6 billion, reflecting a 6 per cent decline.
Disney had previously forewarned Wall Street about the imminent subscriber losses, citing a
strategic shift away from low-margin subscribers. Additionally, the loss of key sports rights in
the region set the stage for substantial churn on the Hotstar front. This also worsens ed an
already sour situation for Priya Sharma, at the Disney+ Hotstar headquarters. Recognizing
the complexities of the Indian media landscape, Walt Disney Company initiated a review of
its strategic options in India, the world’s most populous nation and a challenging
emerging market in the entertainment industry. Conversations with banks explored
potential avenues for business growth while mitigating costs, options such as a sale of the
business or a joint venture. Disney had invested significantly in India, most notably acquiring
21st Century Fox for $71 billion in 2019, with Fox’s TV assets in Asia and the Star pay- TV
business in India being prized assets. In addition to this, the Indian streaming market
presents unique challenges, characterized by low Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and
price sensitivity. Disney+ Hotstar India generates subscription revenue of just $0.59 per
month per subscriber.

DIFFERENCES IN SUBSCRIPTION PLAN-

Jio Cinema entered the market with aggressive pricing, offering its premium plan at ₹999
per year, which includes access to HBO shows and Warner Bros movies. This was
significantly lower than Disney+ Hotstar's premium plan, which costs ₹1,499 per year and
includes Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars content.

MERGER OF JIO CINEMA AND DISNEY+ HOTSTAR:

The Reliance-Disney merger in India is a calculated action intended to change the media and
entertainment environment in the nation. The merger, which was announced on February
28, 2024, is valued at $8.5 billion (about ₹70,352 crore) and aims to combine the media
assets of both firms in the area. By combining Disney's Star India with Reliance's Viacom18
network, this joint venture will become one of India's biggest media companies and
establish it as a strong rival in the streaming and broadcasting markets.
Why This merger?
1. Leveraging India's Market Growth: By 2025, the country's media market is expected to
have grown to a size of over $30 billion. Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, emphasized that
although Disney has a powerful brand, Reliance's local knowledge is essential to navigating
the particular market dynamics of India. Disney may use this regional expertise to expand its
market reach and spur growth by combining with Reliance. Both businesses are perfectly
positioned to benefit from India's increasing demand for a variety of media and
entertainment
2. Growing Streaming Dominance: Jio Cinema and Disney+ Hotstar will collaborate to build a
massive streaming service with millions of users. These platforms collectively are thought to
have 31% of India's streaming market. This new initiative puts itself in a strong position to
compete with global rivals like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which together only own
around 16% of the market, thanks to its substantial regional content, Bollywood films, and
popular sports programming (particularly cricket and tennis).
3. Content and Cost Synergy: Disney and Reliance will gain from each other's vast content
repositories. Disney provides more than 30,000 licensed assets, including significant sports
rights like Wimbledon tennis tournaments and Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket events.
Given Reliance's prior success with innovative pricing techniques in the telecom industry,
the company will be able to expand the variety of its services and maybe undercut rivals on
price with its $1.4 billion investment.
4. Strategic Leadership: Uday Shankar, a seasoned media professional and former Disney
executive, has been named vice-chairman, while Nita Ambani has been named chairperson.
It is anticipated that their combined experience will direct the entity's strategy, which will
concentrate on localizing content to appeal to a variety of regional audiences, competitive
pricing, and increasing digital reach.
Key Details of the Merger
Ownership and Valuation: Total Valuation: $8.5 billion. Organization of Ownership: Disney
will still own 37% of the company, while Reliance will possess 63%. Disney can profit from
the firm without direct management thanks to this arrangement, which lets Reliance take
over operational leadership.
Media and Streaming Assets: 120 TV networks: Viacom18 and Star India's networks,
including popular entertainment channels like Colors and Star Plus, are merged.
The company's digital presence will be anchored by Disney+ Hotstar and Jio Cinema, making
it one of India's biggest streaming centres. It has the potential to reach over 750 million
viewers both domestically and abroad, particularly among the Indian diaspora.
Market Strategy and Investment: Reliance's Investment: Reliance has pledged to invest
₹11,500 crore (~$1.4 billion) to expand subscriber growth, infrastructure, and content
acquisition. With the money, Reliance could duplicate its telecom strategy by providing
inexpensive subscription rates, undercutting competitors such as Netflix, which has
struggled because of premium pricing. In India, Netflix's premium subscriptions can cost up
to five times more than Jio Cinema and Disney+ Hotstar the merger is still pending
regulatory permissions, which should be completed by late 2024 or early 2025. To help
them through the process, both businesses have enlisted well-known advisors, such as
Goldman Sachs and The Raine Group.
Expected Impact on India’s Entertainment Sector
The entertainment sector in India is expected to be redefined by this merger. Reliance and
Disney are in a strong position to challenge the industry leaders and draw in a wide variety
of viewers by fusing local knowledge with a sizable global content library. It boosts
competition in a $28 billion market that is predicted to keep expanding due to rising
smartphone usage and the need for digital content.
In the end, the combined company's advantages in regional language offerings, sports
content, and competitive pricing may position it as the industry leader in India and pave the
way for future growth into other developing markets.

CONCLUSION:
The merger between Jio Cinema and Disney+ Hotstar represents a significant shift in the
Indian OTT landscape. By combining their extensive content libraries and technological
capabilities, the new platform, tentatively named Jio Hotstar, aims to become the largest
OTT service in India. This consolidation is expected to offer viewers a one-stop destination
for a wide range of entertainment options, from sports to movies and TV shows.
However, the merger has raised concerns regarding market dominance and competition.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has scrutinized the deal to ensure it does not
lead to unfair market practices, especially given the exclusive cricket broadcasting rights
held by both platforms. Despite these challenges, the merger is poised to reshape the
streaming industry, providing consumers with more comprehensive and diverse content
options.
Overall, the Jio Cinema and Disney+ Hotstar merger is a strategic move that could redefine
entertainment consumption in India, offering both opportunities and challenges in the
evolving digital landscape.