Disney+ Hotstar is soon going to get stiff competition from the new alliance formed by Sony Pictures Network and Viacom 18 as they’re in the last stages of finalizing a merger.
The merger will leave 74% of the company share to Sony and rest to the Reliance and Network 18 joint venture.
The merger will definitely be one to look out for especially in the regional language department as they make up the majority of Sony’s revenue from broadcast meanwhile the respective OTT channels of both the companies; SonyLIV and Voot may also merge to be a formidable opponent to the streaming giants Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ Hotstar.
Disney had merged last year with Star India to become a part of Hotstar’s premium plans under the Disney+ banner. This has added a host of new and exclusive Disney content to the OTT network’s collection which won’t be easy to challenge, considering the sheer magnitude of films and TV shows it offers.
The Sony-Viacom 18 merger is an apparent win for Reliance as they will reportedly continue to own their news channels while reducing their stake in the venture to 10-12% from 51% which is just enough to benefit from the merger but not enough to handle the operations of the business which will fall majorly on Sony now.
According to media reports, Sony Pictures Network and Viacom 18 are expected to make an announcement soon on the newly-inked deal.
Will they be an intimidating foe or an otiose attempt? Only time will tell.
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