Latest news with #Reliance-Disney
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Reliance-Disney JV creates digital powerhouse, yet Disney projects $200 mn loss in year to September
Media and entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney Company has projected an equity loss of approximately $200 million for the year ended September from its India joint venture with Reliance Industries Ltd, primarily driven by purchase accounting amortization, suggesting that integration costs or performance issues remain in the country. Disney recorded a $50 million loss from the India JV under 'equity in the income of investees' for their third quarter ended June. Disney follows October-September fiscal year. The joint venture, formalized on 14 November 2024, combined Disney's Star-branded general entertainment and sports channels and its Disney+ Hotstar streaming service with the media assets controlled by Reliance. The Mukesh Ambani-owned firm holds a 56% controlling stake in the joint venture, Disney retains 37%, and an investment firm holds the remaining 7%. Further, Disney said that linear networks' international revenue and operating income dropped 58% and 92%, respectively in Q3, largely due to the deconsolidation of Star India. Disney reported 2% increase in revenues to $23.7 billion from $23.2 billion a year ago. The entertainment segment operating income stood at $1.0 billion, a $179 million decrease versus last year. Disney+, the company's video streaming service reported 128 million subscribers, an increase of 1.8 million versus Q2 FY2025. The India JV now combines Reliance's Viacom18 network (with channels like Colors and Sports18) and Disney's Star network (including Star Plus, Star Gold, and Star Sports) under a single umbrella. On the streaming front, the JV brings together JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, creating a digital powerhouse with a combined reach of over 750 million viewers in India. JioHotstar, the video streaming platform created with the merger of Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema in India, said it had crossed 100 million paid subscribers, this March. The combined Reliance-Disney streaming entity is three to four times bigger than the likes of Netflix in terms of total hours of programming and may even look at acquiring smaller,niche language-specific entitiesthat are struggling to survive, according to industry experts.
USA Today
09-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
India suspends IPL cricket after escalating tensions with Pakistan
India suspends IPL cricket after escalating tensions with Pakistan NEW DELHI, May 9 (Reuters) - India's cricket board said it had suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament on Friday as fighting escalated with neighbouring Pakistan, halting play in the sport's richest tournament two weeks before the end of the season. Board members were particularly concerned about the safety of players and whether it was appropriate for such events to take place during the conflict, a source with direct knowledge of the decision told Reuters. "The idea is very clear - it is not appropriate at this time to continue IPL," said the source, who asked not to be named. The suspension would take place "with immediate effect for one week," the IPL wrote in a social media post, confirming an earlier Reuters story. "The decision was taken by the IPL Governing Council after due consultation with all key stakeholders following the representations from most of the franchisees, who conveyed the concern and sentiments of their players, and also the views of the broadcaster, sponsors and fans," the IPL said. The suspension will come as a setback for a Reliance-Disney joint venture which has broadcast rights for the matches, and also scores of companies that have committed millions of dollars for advertising. The suspension means the Indian cricket board and team franchisees will lose some revenues which are linked to match days, the source said. India and Pakistan have been locked in conflict since Wednesday, when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, saying they were "terrorist infrastructure", following a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir last month. New Delhi named two Pakistani nationals as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe. India's army said Pakistan's armed forces carried out "multiple attacks" using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early Friday, a claim Pakistan denied. The tournament began its current season on March 22, and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues around the country. Thursday's IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting broke out in India's border regions. The cricket board attributed that disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala. After striking the $8.5-billion media merger with Walt Disney last year, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance was targeting small businesses and promoting unconventional neuroscience studies to boost its revenues from the IPL.
New Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
India suspends IPL cricket league as clashes with Pakistan escalate
NEW DELHI: India's cricket board said it had suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament today as fighting escalated with neighbouring Pakistan, halting play in the sport's richest tournament two weeks before the end of the season. Board members were particularly concerned about the safety of players and whether it was appropriate for such events to take place during the conflict, a source with direct knowledge of the decision told Reuters. "The idea is very clear - it is not appropriate at this time to continue IPL," said the source, who asked not to be named. The suspension would take place "with immediate effect for one week," the IPL wrote in a social media post, confirming an earlier Reuters story. "The decision was taken by the IPL Governing Council after due consultation with all key stakeholders following the representations from most of the franchisees, who conveyed the concern and sentiments of their players, and also the views of the broadcaster, sponsors and fans," the IPL said. The suspension will come as a setback for a Reliance-Disney joint venture which has broadcast rights for the matches, and also scores of companies that have committed millions of dollars for advertising. The suspension means the Indian cricket board and team franchisees will lose some revenues which are linked to match days, the source said. India and Pakistan have been locked in conflict since Wednesday, when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, saying they were "terrorist infrastructure", following a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir last month. New Delhi named two Pakistani nationals as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe. India's army said Pakistan's armed forces carried out "multiple attacks" using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early today, a claim Pakistan denied. The tournament began its current season on March 22, and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues around the country. Thursday's IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting broke out in India's border regions. The cricket board attributed that disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala.
TimesLIVE
09-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
India suspends IPL cricket league as clashes with Pakistan escalate
India's cricket board suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament on Friday as fighting escalated with neighbouring Pakistan, halting play in the sport's richest tournament two weeks before the end of the season. Board members were particularly concerned about the safety of players and whether it was appropriate for such events to take place during the conflict, a source with direct knowledge of the decision told Reuters. 'The idea is clear — it is not appropriate at this time to continue IPL,' said the source, who asked not to be named. The suspension would take place 'with immediate effect for one week,' the IPL wrote in a social media post, confirming an earlier Reuters story. 'The decision was taken by the IPL governing council after due consultation with key stakeholders after the representations from most of the franchisees, who conveyed the concern and sentiments of their players, and also the views of the broadcaster, sponsors and fans,' the IPL said. The suspension will come as a setback for a Reliance-Disney joint venture which has broadcast rights for the matches and also scores of companies that have committed millions of dollars for advertising. The suspension means the Indian cricket board and team franchisees will lose revenues which are linked to match days, the source said. India and Pakistan have been locked in conflict since Wednesday when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, saying they were 'terrorist infrastructure', after a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir last month. New Delhi named two Pakistanis as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe. India's army said Pakistan's armed forces carried out 'multiple attacks' using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early on Friday, a claim Pakistan denied. The tournament began its season on March 22 and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues around the country. Thursday's IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting broke out in India's border regions. The cricket board attributed that disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala. After striking the $8.5bn (R154.9bn) media merger with Walt Disney last year, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance was targeting small businesses and promoting unconventional neuroscience studies to boost its revenues from the IPL.
Mint
07-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Disney projects $300 mn equity loss in FY25 from India JV with Reliance
Media and entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney Company has projected an equity loss of approximately $300 million for FY25 from its India joint venture with Reliance Industries Ltd, primarily driven by purchase accounting amortization. The joint venture, formalized on 14 November 2024, combined Disney's Star-branded general entertainment and sports channels and its Disney+ Hotstar streaming service with the media assets controlled by Reliance. The Mukesh Ambani-owned firm holds a 56% controlling stake in the joint venture, Disney retains 37%, and an investment firm holds the remaining 7%. With this restructuring, Disney no longer consolidates Star India's results in its financials. Instead, it reports its 37% stake in the JV under 'Equity in the income of investees.' This shift led to a sharp drop in international operating income, which fell 84% year-on-year in Q2 FY25—from $92 million to $15 million—due to the exclusion of Star India's contribution. Disney follows October to September fiscal year. For the second quarter ended 29 March, Disney reported a 7% increase in total revenues to $23.6 billion, driven by a strong performance in its entertainment and experiences segments, according to its earnings report released Wednesday. The entertainment segment posted $1.3 billion in operating income, up $500 million from a year earlier. Linear networks' operating income grew 2% year-on-year, but the company clarified this comparison includes $89 million in operating income from Star India in Q2 FY24, which is no longer present this year. The company also noted subscription revenue growth from its direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms like Disney+ and Hulu, driven by higher prices and more subscribers. However, this was partially offset by foreign exchange headwinds and the absence of Star India's DTC revenues in the current quarter. Disney also recorded $109 million in content impairment charges in Q2 FY25, while the same quarter a year earlier had seen a massive $2.05 billion in goodwill impairments, largely linked to Star India and its linear networks business. Meanwhile, income from equity investees dropped to $36 million from $141 million a year ago, reflecting the India joint venture losses. The India JV now combines Reliance's Viacom18 network (with channels like Colors and Sports18) and Disney's Star network (including Star Plus, Star Gold, and Star Sports) under a single umbrella. On the streaming front, the JV brings together JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, creating a digital powerhouse with a combined reach of over 750 million viewers in India. The combined Reliance-Disney streaming entity is three to four times bigger than the likes of Netflix in terms of total hours of programming and may even look at acquiring smaller, niche language-specific entities that are struggling to survive, according to industry experts. Their total paid subscriber base of 250 million is far higher than the estimated 12 million for Netflix and Prime Video each.
