Disney to cut back on TV, sports biz in India |
As Walt Disney announced its intention to reorganize its media and entertainment businesses, the media, and entertainment conglomerate is likely to scale down its television broadcasting, sports catalog, and film studio business in India. The move comes close on the heels of Uday Shankar stepping down as president, for the APAC (Asia and Pacific) region and chairman, Star, and Disney India, in October. The company wants to reorganize its businesses to “focus on developing and producing original content for the company`s streaming services." The focus on its video streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar is evident from the mammoth movie acquisitions made during the pandemic, including titles LAXMI BOMB and BHUJ: THE PRIDE OF INDIA Walt Disney acquired 21st Century Fox Inc. in a $71 billion cash and stock deal in June 2018, which made Star India, Fox Star Studios, and Hotstar part of Walt Disney in India. The IPL is grabbing its own share of eyeballs. But monetizing the sports catalog is going to be a challenge for the next couple of years with the uncertainty around the sports business, in general, in a world wrecked by COVID restrictions. The other big pullback will be on the film studio front.
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