The merged company, majority-owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, would control cricket broadcast rights, sparking concerns over pricing power and dominance in advertising.
Reliance will infuse $1.4 billion in the merged entity, with the company and its affiliates holding a more than 63% stake. Disney will hold about 37%, the companies said in a joint statement.
A record 518 million viewers from India watched matches during 48-day event on TV, while Disney’s streaming app recorded a peak concurrent viewership of 59 million during finals.
Reliance values Disney's India assets, which comprises the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service and Star India, at between $7 billion and $8 billion, the report said.
The India streaming operations, which were Disney's biggest last year globally by users, posted a loss of $41.5 million on revenue of $390 million for the year to March 2022.
Disney also announced it would launch ad-supported streaming in Europe, Canada and provide US subscribers with a new, ad-free package in coming months.
Disney in India has gone to court in what is the latest and most high-profile challenge to Google's policy of imposing a 'service fee' of 11-26% on in-app payments.
Armenia has procured significant defence equipment from India, including artillery guns, multi-barrel rocket launchers, air defence system, sniper rifles, weapons locating radars, anti-drone weapons.
The key to fighting a war successfully, or even launching it, is a clear objective. That’s an entirely political call. It isn’t emotional or purely military.
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