The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has approved the transfer of non-news TV-channel licenses from Viacom18 to Star India. The merger is poised to create the largest Indian media conglomerate. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries will hold a 63.16% stake in the new entity while Disney will own the remaining 36.84 %. The new entity is expected to be valued at $8.5 billion.

"It is hereby informed that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), Government of India, vide its order dated September 27, 2024, has granted its approval for the transfer of Licenses relating to Non-News & Current Affairs TV channels held by Viacom18 Media in favour of Star India subject to conditions laid by Competition Commission of India," read the announcement.

The merger had already received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in August 2024. The new media entity will host two streaming services and around 120 TV channels. The entity will have access to franchises such as Marvel and Lucas films. It will have access to content from HBO Originals, Warner Bros, and Discovery approximately 30,000 Disney content assets. It will have a strong regional emphasis with content in major regional languages such as Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and a plethora of sports content reaching over 750 million viewers worldwide.

Nita Ambani will be the Chairperson of the joint venture and Uday Shankar will be the Vice President. Reliance will also pump around $1.4 billion to the joint entity. It is set to compete with the likes of Netflix, Sony and Amazon Prime Video for dominance over the Indian media landscape.