The merger creates the largest media group in India, with streaming platforms JioCinema and Hotstar combining for 100+ channels and more than 50 million subscribers.

India’s entertainment landscape shifted Thursday as Reliance Industries and Disney completed their long-awaited media merger, creating an Indian powerhouse valued at $8.5 billion. The deal combines Disney’s Star India with Reliance’s Viacom18 and streaming platforms JioCinema and Hotstar.

Reliance and Disney have completed their landmark Indian media merger, creating an $8.5 billion entertainment powerhouse in the country's streaming and Reliance and Disney complete landmark Indian media merger,

(Reuters) - Reliance Industries and Walt Disney on Thursday completed the $8.5 billion merger of their Indian media assets, which have been split into three divisions, with each unit having its own CEO.

The joint venture has combined revenue of $3.1 billion and over 100 TV channels, 50 million subscribers, and 30,000 hours of TV entertainment content annually

While the merger could potentially reshape OTT advertising with premium targeting, the reduced ad inventory raises challenges for agencies, limiting their negotiation leverage.

Reliance Industries and Disney have finalized their media merger in India, but their unified streaming platform, potentially JioHotstar, faces domain

A new website, Jiostar.com, has emerged with a ‘Coming Soon’ message, and a Wikipedia page for Jio Star has also been created, hinting at the brand’s upcoming launch. Meanwhile, internally, both the companies are taking next steps with the merger,

Media and entertainment heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL) and Walt Disney have completed the merger of their various Indian media assets - including the Viacom18 and Star India broadcasters - in a deal worth $8.