RIL launches JioStar, led by Nita Ambani, following historic merger with Disney Star; basic plans start at 15 rupees.
The network cries out against the monopoly.
JioStar has launched its portal, generating great anticipation, with affordable plans starting from just 15 rupees. This digital platform arises from the media merger between Viacom18, part of Reliance Industries, and the Indian division of The Walt Disney Company. Although the portal is already active, content streaming has not yet begun. The homepage of the website indicates that Viacom18 and Disney Star have completed a merger.
In the section dedicated to subscription packages, JioStar offers a variety in multiple languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Odia, and also in English. The initial package in Hindi, which costs 59 rupees per month, allows access to 16 Star channels, including Star Plus, Star Utsav, Bindaas, Star Sports Hindi, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, and Hungama, among others. Additionally, there is a section dedicated to Disney Kids, starting at 15 rupees per month, which includes channels like Disney Channel, Super Hungama, and Disney Junior; the Disney Hungama Kids package adds the Hungama TV channel.
These packages are Standard Definition, while the High Definition packages are more expensive, with the Hindi package starting at 88 rupees per month. Reliance Industries Limited has reported that it has invested 11,500 crore rupees (around 1.4 billion dollars) in this historic partnership, in which RIL holds 16.34% of the shares, Viacom holds 46.82%, and Disney holds 36.84%. The joint venture is headed by Nita Ambani, with Uday Shankar from Bodhi Tree serving as the vice-chairman of the new entity.
The management of the joint venture is led by three CEOs: Kevin Vaz overseeing entertainment, Kiran Mani heading digital operations, and Sanjog Gupta supervising the sports organization. It has also been mentioned that RIL acquired Paramount Global's entire 13.01% stake in Viacom18, paying 4,286 crore rupees. Reactions to the announcement have ranged from concerns about the monopoly created by Reliance to a series of memes on social media.
