We at Binged had earlier informed our readers about The Walt Disney Co. planning to offload its Indian business to the highest bidder. We had also mentioned that Jio Cinema’s Mukesh Ambani, Sun TV’s Kalanithi Maran, and billionaire Gautam Adani are all wooing the powers at be, to grab the prestigious Disney brand.
Word on the ground is that Disney India honchos will go into a huddle with their US counterparts later next month, to finalise plans to sell Disney’s India operations. Whether the sale will include Hotstar properties, or just the Disney brand is still not very clear.
Amidst all the melee of Disney Plus Hotstar’s beleaguered status, one name seems to pop out starkly as prime contender from the rarefied list of potential buyers for Disney – and that is Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance and Jio Cinema.
We think the Jio Cinema – Disney deal is almost through, which means Jio Cinema has all but got Disney Plus Hotstar in its kitty — a fast-expanding kitty of prestigious acquisitions, including HBO, NBCUniversal’s Peacock TV, the IPL, all future engagements of the Indian cricket team, Formula 1 Racing, and more.
Firstly, Mukesh Ambani is not one to back down from a fight. He is a hardened, battle-scarred warrior, who has time and again beaten worthy opponents to emerge victorious against the toughest of competitors. Moreover, having grabbed exclusive properties such as HBO and the IPL right from under the nose of more experienced players such as Prime Video and Disney Plus Hotstar, Mukesh Ambani has tasted blood.
Mukesh Ambani is certain not letting go of a brand as eminent and legendary as Disney without a fight. In fact, he’s not letting go of it at all. He’ll fight tooth and nail for Disney Plus Hotstar, and will keep at it until he wins. It helps that he’s got eye-popping monies at his disposal, to pay whatever the asking price for Disney will be, and more.
Secondly, an innocuous post from Jio Cinema’s official social media handle on X (formerly Twitter) has given away more than Jio Cinema wanted to. The post was deleted within minutes, but your friendly, eagle-eyed Binged managed to grab an eyeful of it before it could be deleted. Jio Cinema’s deleted post on X seems to suggests that it has already closed in on the kill (aka Disney Plus Hotstar) and an official announcement is but a mere formality.
The Jio Cinema post came in the wake of Disney Plus Hotstar’s record-breaking, concurrent viewing numbers of 3.5 Cr during the India – Pakistan match in the ongoing ICC Men’s World Cup. Jio Cinema posted a congratulatory message for Disney Plus Hotstar on X, also adding that it is a win for streaming.
Jio Cinema’s post on X instantly attracted the attention of social media users, Binged included. Soon, users began speculating on Jio Cinema’s surprising congratulatory post for Disney Plus Hotstar. Within minutes, Jio Cinema realised its mistake and deleted its post on X.
Well, what do you make of that? We think it’s a case of Jio Cinema being caught with the proverbial smoking gun.
All of the above point to just one thing – Jio Cinema is poised to take over Disney Plus Hotstar. It’s all a matter of waiting for the official announcement.
And the announcement will come sooner rather than later – wait for it!
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