According to industry reports, Walt Disney has made a significant move by selling its minority stake in a subscription television broadcaster to Tata Group. This strategic decision will enable the US media giant to concentrate on merging its Indian unit with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media arm, thereby reshaping the Indian media landscape.
BMA understands that the transaction values Tata Play at about US$1 billion. Tata Group took full control of the TV platform after buying the 29.8 per cent stake from Disney.
The deal was struck at a time when India’s media landscape was undergoing a seismic shift. In late February, Disney signed a binding agreement to merge its India unit with Viacom 18 Media Pvt, creating an entertainment behemoth worth US$8.5 billion. This giant will boast a staggering 750 million viewers, solidifying its dominance in the sector in the world’s most populous country.
Tata Play was incorporated in 2001 as a joint venture between Tata Group and TFCF, formerly known as Twenty-First Century Fox. The company provides pay television via set-top boxes and over-the-top video streaming through its app. According to Tata Sons’s website, it has a pan-India footprint of 23 million connections. In 2022, Tata Play filed confidentially for a domestic initial public offering, but the listing has yet to happen.
Tata Group raised its stake in Tata Play to slightly over 70 per cent after buying out Temasek Holding’s stake earlier this year. Temasek first invested in Tata Sky, as it was known then, in 2007.
