Top 2 Indian OTTs: 50% Market Gone!

The merger between Reliance and Disney’s platforms in India has resulted in the creation of a powerful OTT giant. Their emphasis on streaming cricket content has proven pivotal to their success, posing a potential threat to competitors like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

The impact of cricket coverage was particularly huge between March and May 2023, coinciding with the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Cricket was a big hit, with Hotstar getting 191 million visitors for the Men’s Cricket World Cup, and Reliance hit the jackpot during the IPL.

Pre-merger, approximately half of India’s internet users (46%) engaged with content on Reliance’s and Disney’s streaming platforms. Post-merger projections suggest the new entity could secure around 50% of India’s streaming market share.

The merger is expected to make it harder for Netflix and Prime Video to compete, and also for Indian platforms like MXPlayer and ZEE5 as they will lose 50% of the OTT market to Reliance+Disney.

Notably, in January, Disney’s Hotstar and Reliance’s JioCinema and JioTV experienced high traffic. Hotstar had 144 million visitors, while JioCinema and JioTV had 129 million visitors.

Last month, Reliance bought Disney’s business in India, making an $8.5 billion media company. Reliance and Disney also agreed to work together with Viacom18 and Star India. Mukesh Ambani is putting $1.4 billion into this new venture, which is valued at $8.5 billion.

The new company will be mostly owned by Reliance, with Viacom18 and Disney having smaller shares. Nita Ambani will lead the new company, with Uday Shankar as vice chairperson.