Viacom 18

Viacom18 and Sony Pictures Networks India lead the race for the Asian Cricket Council media rights, while Zee Entertainment denies involvement, citing a focus on cost management

The NCLT on Friday approved the scheme of merger of Reliance Industries-owned Viacom 18 Media -- the holding company of the group's media and entertainment assets -- with Star India. A two-member bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the composite Scheme of Arrangement among Viacom 18, Digital18 and Star India, a unit of global media giant The Walt-Disney. The development comes two days after the Competition Commission of India approved the merger of media assets of Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Co to create the country's largest media empire worth over Rs 70,000 crore. Approving it, the NCLT observed: "From the material on record, the Scheme appears to be fair and reasonable and is not violative of any provisions of law and is not contrary to public policy". The NCLT in its 22-page-long order also observed that the scheme "will be made effective, in terms of the Scheme, only upon the receipt of the approval of the Competition Commission of India". T

This merger of Viacom18 and Walt Disney Co's Indian media arm makes the combined entity India's largest entertainment conglomerate with a portfolio of 120 channels

Viewers will be able to catch the opening ceremony tonight at 11:30 PM IST and live action from the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 from August 29 at 12 noon onwards

In February this year, RIL and Disney agreed to merge Star and Viacom18, forming an $8.5 billion media giant with over 100 channels and two streaming platforms

On February 28, RIL and Disney finalised a deal to merge Star India and Viacom18, resulting in a new entity valued at Rs 70,352 crore, which includes a Rs 11,500 crore capital infusion from RIL

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries has sought approval from fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the USD 8.5-billion merger of Viacom18 and Star India Pvt Ltd (SIPL). "The proposed transaction aims to combine the entertainment businesses (along with certain other identified businesses) of Viacom18, part of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) group and SIPL, wholly-owned by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC). "As a result of the transaction, SIPL, currently a wholly-owned entity of TWDC through its subsidiaries, will become a joint venture (JV) which will be jointly held by RIL, Viacom18 and existing TWDC subsidiaries," a notice filed with the CCI said on Friday. The proposed transaction will not cause any appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, RIL said in the notice. However, to facilitate the CCI's assessment, they have identified several key markets where horizontal overlaps were significant such as licensing of audio visual conten

Paramount's shares surged nearly 15% on Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal first reported the exclusive negotiations with Skydance

A day after Reliance, Viacom18 and Disney announced a mega joint venture, RIL traded firm, while shares of TV18 group hit the 5% lower circuits. Here's a quick chart check.

One key area of regulatory scrutiny for a Disney-Reliance merger would be their streaming businesses and their power over advertising during cricket

The Bill proposes the formation of individual content evaluation committees with members from various social groups who will review and sign off on shows before they are released

Leading media & entertainment firm Viacom18 on Saturday said it has bagged streaming and broadcast rights for all domestic and international cricket in India for five years from September 2023 to March 2028 for a consideration of Rs 5,963 crore. The Reliance Industries-controlled media house, which earlier this year disrupted the market by live streaming the IPL matches through its OTT platform JioCinema, was competing with rival media houses such as Star India and Sony for the five-year rights. The e-auction of media rights was held on August 31. "Viacom18 secured exclusive Media Rights for the BCCI International and Domestic matches for September 2023-March 2028. The network won both the Indian sub-continent and global television and digital rights for the next five years for a cumulative figure of INR 5,963 crore," said a Viacom18 statement. Reliance-backed Viacom18 had earlier acquired digital rights for IPL for the 2023-27 cycle for a whopping Rs 20,500 crore. After ...

In 2018, Disney Star retained the BCCI media rights by paying Rs 6,138 crore for the five-year cycle (2018-23)

Viacom18's streaming platform JioCinema on Monday announced a multi-year agreement with NBCUniversal (NBCU) to bring several NBCU films and TV series to India. The development comes a month after JioCinema said it will be the new home to HBO and Warner Bros content in the country starting May. As per the pact, viewers will be able to enjoy titles from NBCU's world-renowned content portfolio, which is backed by production entities and brands including Universal Television, Universal International Studios, Sky Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures and Focus Features. NBCU's programming will be based out of a Peacock branded hub starting June on JioCinema's newly announced 'JioCinema Premium' SVOD (subscription video on demand) tier. Through this service, Indian subscribers will have access to Peacock Originals including "Bel-Air", a dramatic reimagining of the '90s comedy series that starred Will Smith, and "The Calling", an investigative drama series from Emmy winner Dav

The companies are waiting for the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to conclude before finalising the merger

Vaz was earlier the head of infotainment, kids and regional entertainment channels Star and Disney Indi

IPL 2023: The inaugural match between GT and CSK had 31 advertisers but last year the opening match between CSK and KKR had 52 advertisers on TV

IPL 2023: At 7:30 PM today, defending champions Gujarat Titans will clash with four-time champions Chennai Super Kings at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

India's historic debut on the MotoGP calendar in September this year will be exclusively live-streamed on JioCinema and Sports18 after Viacom 18 secured the telecast rights for the country. Viacom18's coverage will tip off with the Grand Premio de Portugal. The network will offer an exhaustive live presentation that will include practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, qualifying and the sprint on Saturday and the main race on Sunday. The MotoGP World Championship is the highest level of motorcycle racing in the world, in which the most skilled riders compete on world-class, high performance, fastest prototype motorcycles on the planet, made by leading manufacturers. The 2023 season, the biggest series to date, will witness 21 races across 18 countries, including the milestone 14th round in India as MotoGP is set to make its debut in the country. MotoGP fans in India will be able to catch all the action from the pinnacle of two-wheeled racing through this new partnership as the 11

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