According to persons familiar with the decision, JioCinema intends to name former Google general manager Kiran Mani CEO, leading the Indian streaming TV service’s push to increase its client base among mobile users.
In the past, Mani oversaw Google’s Android business in the Asia Pacific area. According to the person who wished to remain anonymous while speaking about private affairs, he will oversee the service’s technological development and enable agreements with Hollywood studios.
According to his Linkedin profile, the executive, who has already begun working for the business, was an early investor and consultant to James Murdoch and Uday Shankar’s Bodhi Tree investment firm. The parent company of JioCinema, Viacom18, is a partnership of Bodhi Tree, Paramount Global, and Reliance Industries Ltd., a firm owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani. A Reliance Industries spokesman was unable to comment right away.
For international media corporations, India, with its 1.4 billion population, has been a fiercely competitive environment. The country already enjoys popularity from Google and its YouTube affiliate. In an effort to entice more paying subscribers, JioCinema provided free broadcasting of a significant cricket tournament earlier this year. 999 rupees, or around $12, is how much the service costs yearly.
JioCinema struck additional content agreements this year with entertainment behemoths Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and Comcast Corp. ‘s NBCUniversal as part of its expansion aspirations.
People with knowledge of the issue informed ET that The Walt Disney Co is thought to have recently held discussions with Reliance Industries (RIL), which also holds a controlling share in Viacom18, at a time when the American media conglomerate is considering different strategic options for its India operations.
According to the reports, two of the most senior executives in both organisations recently had a direct discussion. Disney has had preliminary discussions with potential purchasers for its India business, including RIL, according to a Monday Bloomberg story. The American media conglomerate is reportedly examining strategic options for its India business, according to a previous Wall Street Journal report. Star India opted not to respond.
Star India, which formerly had the TV and digital rights to all of the significant cricket franchises, has suffered as a result of Viacom18’s entrance into the sports market.
HBO and NBCUniversal premium Hollywood programming were also purchased by the corporation. Disney+ Hotstar used to stream HBO content.
