The government has approved the transfer of licenses related to non-news and current affairs TV channels of media units of Reliance Industries, led by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, to Star India. According to information given to the stock exchanges by Reliance Industries and TV18 Broadcast, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has given this approval through an order dated September 27. It said, "The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has given its approval to transfer the license related to non-news and current affairs TV channel of Viacom18 Media Private Limited in favor of Star India through its order dated September 27, 2024.

Merger approval was received from NCLT

This will be subject to the conditions set by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Viacom18 is a holding company that owns the media and entertainment business of Reliance Industries and Bodhi Tree Systems. Now both the parties are in the final stages of the merger and are making some adjustments in their business in accordance with the instructions of the CCI. On August 30, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the plan of merger of Viacom18 Media and Digital18 Media, which own the media and entertainment assets of Reliance Industries, with Star India. The plan proposed to transfer the media operations related to Viacom18 and Jio Cinema to Digital18, a subsidiary of Viacom18.

It will become the country's largest media group

The merger of media assets of Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Company will create the country's largest media group with a valuation of over Rs 70,000 crore. Earlier, the CCI had said it has approved the proposal for combination of Reliance Industries Ltd, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd, Digital18 Media Ltd, Star India Pvt Ltd (SIPL) and Star Television Productions Ltd (STPL), subject to compliance with voluntary amendments. However, the CCI did not disclose the voluntary amendments to the original deal made by the two parties.

Two OTT and 120 television channels

Under the deal, Mukesh Ambani-led RIL and its partners will hold a 63.16 per cent stake in the combined entity, which will have two streaming services and 120 television channels. Walt Disney will hold the remaining 36.84 per cent stake in the combined entity. It will be the country's largest media company. Reliance Industries has also agreed to invest about Rs 11,500 crore in the joint venture to compete with rivals such as Netflix and Japan's Sony. Nita Ambani, wife of RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani, will head the joint venture, while Uday Shankar will be its vice-chairman.