JioStar: What will happen to Disney's original content? Which channels will shut down? 5 things you must know

The Indian digital streaming space is all set to see a revolution as Walt Disney¡¯s Disney Star and Reliance Industries¡¯ Viacom 18 are merging to create a joint venture JioStar. A website and Wikipedia page by the same has gone live and the much-awaited announcement is expected on or before November 18.

While you await to step into a new world of content streaming, here¡¯s a quick look at what you can expect from the new venture and more!

5 things you need to know about Disney-Hotstar merger

1. Will any TV or OTT channel shut down after JioStar comes to reality?

Likely yes. Both Star Network and Viacom18 have a diverse range of TV channels and OTT shows that cater to the same kind of genre, language or audience. A 48-page detailed order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) suggested a divestment of seven TV channels including Star Jalsha Movies, Star Jalsha Movies HD, Colors Marathi, Colors Marathi HD, Colors Super, Hungama, and Super Hungama.

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While the current merger will have all existing content across both JioCinema and JioHotstar in one place, the upcoming venture will await a viewership trial for the next couple of months before they decide on what to continue and what to take off-air.

Also Read: JioStar.com goes live as Disney-Reliance gears up for mega-merger, entity planning to go live on this date

2. Will Disney's original content be available on JioStar?

The upcoming platform will emerge as a one-stop platform for some major International content and don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get to see the best of both worlds in one place. Gear up to enjoy Disney+ Hotstar premium hits like Grey's Anatomy and Modern Family and JioCinema¡¯s HBO and Paramount content in a single scroll. Who doesn¡¯t like one subscription for everything they wish to watch?

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3. Which entity has how much stake in the Disney-Reliance merger?

The Star India and Viacom18 merger will result in JioStar being valued at Rs 70,352 crore which includes a Rs 11,500 crore capital infusion from Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). The upcoming deal will get RIL a majority stake of 46.82 per cent, Viacom18 having 36.84 per cent, and Disney with 16.34 per cent.

4. Who will lead the Disney-Reliance merger and who all are exiting the entity?

There has been a major shake-up in terms of top leaders leading both Viacom18 and Disney+ Hotstar. Top executives like K Madhavan, Sajith Sivanandan, Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, Mihir Rale, and Ferzad Palia have walked out ahead of the merger. JioStar will likely be led by Kevin Vaz and Kiran Mani as co-CEOs. Both of them currently serve as CEOs for Viacom18¡¯s broadcast and digital clusters, respectively.

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Several sources suggest that Piyush Goyal, the Chief Operating Officer at IndiaCast Media, will take over as the distribution head and Anil Lale, General Counsel at Viacom18 will be the General Counsel for the merged entity.

5. Will JioStar be a threat to Netflix and Prime Video?

Obviously! The Indian content space so far had two of the biggest players Amazon Prime Video and Netflix running neck-to-neck under all categories with other streaming platforms just struggling to be at par with them. With the launch of JioStar, the streaming industry will surely shake up and the competition to be home to some quality content will get tougher every single day for all three.

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