TL;DR
- Reliance has decided to retain Disney+ Hotstar as the official streaming platform after the Star-Vaicom18 merger.
- The leadership at Reliance has determined that Disney+ Hotstar has a superior tech infrastructure.
- Even though Reliance will hold a majority stake (56%), the operations of the newly merged entity will be managed by Star India.
Earlier this year, Viacom18 and Disney’s Star India decided to merge their TV and streaming businesses. The joint venture was valued at a whopping Rs. 70,000 crore. As part of the proposal, the companies decided to provide the latest television programs via JioCinema. However, according to a new report, that isn’t the case anymore.
Reliance To Retain Disney+ Hotstar Instead Of JioCinema
According to a report by the Economic Times, Reliance has decided to retain Disney+ Hotstar as the official streaming platform after the Star-Vaicom18 merger. Employees in both companies were informed of the changes earlier last week. This is a tad surprising, especially since Reliance had its own foot in the water.
With JioCinema, the company tried to foray into the race of OTT platforms. Back in April, it also released new Premium and Family plans with an add-free experience. However, there are three key reasons why Reliance went with Disney+ Hotstar.
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Disney+ Hotstar Has A Better Tech Infrastructure And More Active Viewers
First, the leadership at Reliance has determined that Disney+ Hotstar has a superior tech infrastructure. It should help in providing a better viewing experience to users, including advanced viewing formats like HD, along with Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus.
Secondly, Disney+ Hotstar has a significantly bigger user base. Apparently, the platform had about 333 million active monthly users in Q4 2023, which is about 1.5x of JioCinema’s 225 million monthly active users. The metric indicates that Disney+ Hotstar is very popular among Indian users.
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Last but not least, Disney+ Hotstar has more paying subscribers than JioCinema. While the former has about 35.5 million paying users, the latter has around 16 million users that pay for using its services. Hence, a superior tech infrastructure, more active monthly users, and more paid subscribers have compelled Reliance to kill JioCinema.
The merger is in the final stages. Even though Reliance will hold a majority stake (56%), the operations of the newly merged entity will be managed by Star India.
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