RIL eyes JioCinema as sole OTT platform post Star-Viacom18 deal

TDT | agencies 

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which will control the merged Star-Viacom18 entity once it receives regulatory approvals, is considering to consolidate its streaming services under a single platform, JioCinema, according to a report by The Economic Times.

Despite Disney+ Hotstar having more downloads than JioCinema, RIL is exploring the possibility of integrating Disney+ Hotstar with JioCinema post-merger. Disney+ Hotstar, owned by Walt Disney’s Star India, boasts over 500 million downloads, whereas JioCinema, which is part of RIL-controlled Viacom18, has over 100 million downloads.

In February this year, RIL and Walt Disney reached an agreement to merge Star and Viacom18, creating an $8.5 billion media conglomerate that would encompass over 100 channels and two streaming platforms.

The company is also prepared to shut down channels in both Hindi and regional markets to address concerns from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) regarding the market dominance of the newly merged Star-Viacom18 entity.

The final approvals from the CCI and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) are still pending