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The Delhi High Court recently issued an injunction against a rogue pirate app and its several websites to prevent them from streaming, reproducing, or making Disney Star channel content available to the public. The lawsuit, filed by Disney Star, seeks a permanent injunction against the King's Pro+ app and related websites.

The court instructed the Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to notify various internet and telecom service providers under their jurisdiction to block the infringing websites. 

Disney Star's petition argued that the King’s app, an unauthorized mobile application, lacks permission to reproduce, store, or display Hotstar’s content, for which Disney Star holds exclusive rights. The petition also asserted that the King’s app seeks to exploit Disney Star’s copyright-protected content, offering an alternative to legitimate sources.

Justice Amit Bansal found that Disney Star had made a prima facie case, with the balance of convenience in its favor. Accordingly, the court barred the King’s app from hosting, streaming, distributing, or otherwise making Disney Star's copyrighted content, shows, or programs accessible to the public.

The court also directed the domain name registrar to disclose information about King’s ownership, including name, address, IP address, payment method, bank details, and information on any other websites infringing Disney Star’s content. Additionally, it ordered PayPal Payment Private Limited to freeze the account of the King's app owner. The next hearing is scheduled for February 27, 2025.

Delhi High Court blocks pirate app streaming Disney Star content

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) published the 48-page detailed order approving the mega media merger of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney, entailing various conditions, including divestment of seven TV channels. Reliance expects to complete merger with Disney's India business in Q3. 

As part of seeking the regulator's approval, the parties have voluntarily agreed that they will not bundle TV ad slots for IPL, ICC and BCCI cricketing rights till the end of existing rights. Also, the parties will sell seven TV channels, including Hungama and Super Hungama.

Among other conditions, the companies have voluntarily agreed that they will not bundle together the TV ad slot sales for all three cricketing rights available with them — IPL, ICC and BCCI — for the remaining tenure of the existing rights.

"The parties will not bundle together OTT ad slot sales for all three cricketing rights available with the parties i.e. IPL, ICC and BCCI for the balance tenure of the existing rights," the 48-page order said.

The parties have given an undertaking that they will not increase the advertisement rates to an unreasonable level on their TV and streaming platforms for the ICC and IPL events till the current rights are held by them.

On August 28, CCI said it had approved the merger of media assets of Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Co to create the country's largest media empire worth over ₹70,000 crore.

The deal, announced earlier this year, had faced scrutiny by the anti-trust regulator, and the approval has come after the parties proposed certain modifications to the original transaction structure.

Reliance is all set to control over 60 per cent of the new combined unit — 16 per cent directly and 47 per cent via the Viacom18 Media business it largely owns — while 37 per cent goes to Disney. The combined entity will hold two streaming services and 120 television channels. Reliance owns Viacom18 Media and Digital18, and Disney controls Star India and Star Television.


Reliance-Disney merger: CCI releases 48 page order, parties agree to not bundle cricket ad slots

K. Madhavan, Country Manager and President of Disney Star has stepped down after a 15-year tenure. Madhavan took over the role in 2019 after Uday Shankar’s departure. Madhavan joined Star India in 2009 as South Head, enhancing its regional entertainment portfolio.

He played a crucial role in shaping the company’s strategy and growth, overseeing the Disney, Star, and Disney+ Hotstar brands across General Entertainment, Sports, Direct-to-Consumer, and Studios. 

Prior to this, he served as MD and CEO of Asianet from 2000-2008, where he played a crucial role in growing the channel to a dominant 50% market share in South India. He has been responsible for driving the growth of the business, focusing on innovation, and creating compelling content for consumers.

Madhavan joined Star India in 2009 as its South Head. Under his leadership, the company built a thriving regional entertainment portfolio. 

Sources close to the development confirmed the update. Disney Star declined to comment. 

A source close to the developments said, “Multiple senior leaders have stepped down due to the ongoing merger. There will be a few more exits in the top leadership team.” 

In addition to his role at Disney Star, Madhavan was also President of the Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), Chairman of the National Committee of Media & Entertainment for the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Director of the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, and served on the board of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum.



Disney Star's K Madhavan quits after 15 year tenure

The Walt Disney has named Morgan Stanley executive James Gorman as its next chairman. He will take on the role early next year, with Disney also announcing that it will name its new chief executive in early 2026. 

Gorman will become chairman on January 2 2025, succeeding Mark Parker, who is leaving after serving on Disney’s board for nine years. The incoming chairman is currently chair of Disney’s succession planning committee. He serves as executive chairman at Morgan Stanley, but will be stepping down from that post at the end of the year.

Disney chief executive Bob Iger said, “The Disney board has benefited tremendously from James Gorman’s expertise and guidance, and we are lucky to have him as our next chairman – particularly as the Board continues to move forward with the succession process.”

“A critical priority before us is to appoint a new CEO, which we now expect to announce in early 2026,” Gorman said in a statement provided by Disney. “This timing reflects the progress the succession planning committee and the board are making, and will allow ample time for a successful transition before the conclusion of Bob Iger’s contract in December 2026.”

The issue of CEO succession at Disney was a flash point in the protracted proxy fight launched by activist investor Nelson Peltz, who alleged Disney’s board failed to do its job with respect to CEO succession planning in not vetting former parks boss Bob Chapek, who was Iger’s personal pick to take over the job in 2020. The board ousted Chapek in November 2022 and Iger returned as CEO. Peltz ultimately lost his bid to shake up Disney’s board (seeking seats for himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo) and earlier this year reportedly sold all his Disney shares.

Gorman said, “I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to serve as Disney’s chairman at this important moment in the company’s history. In the short time I have had the opportunity to work with Mark, I have come to appreciate and deeply respect his authentic leadership, humility and intelligence. I know all directors join me in saying we have been honored to serve with him as the chairman of the board.”

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2006, Gorman held executive positions at Merrill Lynch and was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. He serves as a director of the Council on Foreign Relations, chair of the board of overseers of the Columbia Business School, and is a member of the Business Council. 

Gorman formerly served as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, president of the Federal Advisory Council to the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, and co-chairman of the business committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Disney names James Gorman as next Chairman, will take charge in 2025

The Disney Star’s anti-piracy team recently trained Dubai police and law enforcement agencies on combating content piracy in the region. Sources have indicated that the team will also train law enforcement agencies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Digital video piracy results in revenue losses ranging from $40 to $97 billion for the global film industry. The losses for the global television industry are estimated to be between $40 billion and $95 billion. The Indian entertainment sector experiences an annual revenue loss of approximately $2.8 billion due to digital piracy, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

On September 19, Storyboard18 reported that Disney Star India has taken its fight against piracy to the international level by conducting an operation to raid a suspected rogue Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) provider in Dubai. The raid led to the seizure of multiple IPTV boxes containing 12,000 pirated premium channels and content from various rights holders.

The illegal sale of these IPTV boxes undermines the principles of broadcast licensing and negatively affects the fees broadcasters pay for sports and entertainment rights.

A source close to the development said, “We have noticed that a majority of the pirates in these regions are from Pakistan and Bangladesh. The content they illegally distribute belongs to multiple rights holders. The team recently trained the Dubai police officers and other law enforcement agencies.” 

The source claimed that Disney’s anti-piracy team will meet with law enforcement agencies in GCC countries in phases to train them on anti-piracy laws and the methods used by notorious content pirates. The idea is to not only spread awareness but to also build a network for swift crackdown on notorious pirates. Moreover, the Disney Star's anti-piracy team is closely monitoring two notorious content pirates operating in India and MENA region. 

In November 2023, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated that the film industry faces losses of up to Rs 20,000 crore every year due to piracy. The MIB also established an institutional mechanism of Nodal Officers to receive complaints against piracy and direct intermediaries to remove pirated content from digital platforms.

Earlier, in June 2024, the Ahmedabad Police, along with Disney Star's anti-piracy team led by Major Ashok Yadav, dismantled a network of illegal streaming websites broadcasting ICC T20 World Cup matches. This operation led to the shutdown of platforms like magicwin.games and magicwin.com, which were not only streaming live cricket matches but also promoting illegal betting activities.

Disney Star trains Dubai Police, will expand anti-piracy drive in GCC countries

The Modi government has approved the transfer of licenses relating to non-news and current affairs TV channels held by Viacom18Media in favor of Star India Private Limited. In February this year, RIL-owned Viacom 18 Media and US-based The Walt Disney Company-owned Star India had announced the merger to create a Joint Venture.

In its regulatory filing, Reliance Industries informed the stock exchanges that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), Government of India, vide its order dated September 27, 2024, has granted its approval for transfer of Licenses relating to Non News & Current Affairs TV channels held by Viacom18 Media Private Limited. 
“This in favour of Star India Private Limited subject to conditions laid by Competition Commission of India.”

RIL, Viacom18 and The Walt Disney Company (Disney) signed the binding definitive agreements to form a joint venture that will combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India. As part of the transaction, the media undertaking of Viacom18 will be merged into Star India Private Limited through a court approved scheme of arrangement.

The transaction valued the JV at Rs 70,352 crore and RIL had agreed to invest at closing Rs 11,500 crore (approximately USD 1.4 billion) into the JV for its growth strategy.
The merger had got approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in August with few observations.


Huge win for Reliance, Modi govt approves transfer of License from Viacom18 to Star India

Disney Star India has taken its fight against piracy to the international stage. The Law enforcement agencies in the UAE recently raided the operations of an alleged rogue Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) provider. The raid resulted in the seizure of IPTV boxes containing 12,000 pirated premium channels and content from various rightsholders.

According to sources, Disney Star filed a criminal complaint in UAE against a rogue IPTV provider, primeproott.com, which was selling IPTV boxes through its website. The complaint states that the rogue operator charged Rs 5,750 for the box and Rs 2,300 for access to the application.

The law enforcement agencies conducted the raid on September 16, 2024, leading to the seizure of the IPTV boxes and the arrest of the pirate. The illegal sale of these IPTV boxes undermines the principles of broadcast licensing and negatively impacts the fees broadcasters pay for sports and entertainment rights.

The Disney Star's anti piracy team is currently in UAE for further such crackdowns and is closely working with law enforcement agencies to tackle piracy in the MENA region. The arrested accused is considered as one of the notorious individual involved in distribution of pirated content to large number of users. The agency is also investigating if other individuals are also linked to the case. 

A source privy to the details of the case told Storyboard18, "Following the police raid, the website has been taken down. Such actions by law enforcement agencies are highly commendable as they will deter others from engaging in content piracy."

Earlier, in June 2024, the Ahmedabad Police, along with Disney Star's anti-piracy team led by Major Ashok Yadav, dismantled a network of illegal streaming websites broadcasting ICC T20 World Cup matches. This operation resulted in the shutdown of platforms like magicwin.games and magicwin.com, which were not only streaming live cricket matches but also promoting illegal betting activities.

Breaking: Major IPTV piracy ring busted following Disney Star complaint

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday approved the merger of Disney Star and Viacom18. 


In February 2024, Reliance Industries Limited, Viacom 18 Media Private Limited and The Walt Disney Company announced the signing of binding definitive agreements to form a joint venture which will combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India.


The above mentioned transaction would be resulting Viacom18 to be merged into Star India Private Limited through a court-approved scheme of arrangement. In May 2024, The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had approved the merger plan involving Reliance Industries Ltd's Viacom18, its wholly-owned subsidiary Digital18, and Walt Disney's Star India.


CCI in its statement on X said, "C-2024/05/1155 Commission approves the proposed combination involving Reliance Industries Limited, Viacom18 Media Private Limited, Digital18 Media Limited, Star India Private Limited and Star Television Productions Limited, subject to the compliance of voluntary modifications." 



CCI approves Disney Star and Viacom18 merger

Disney-owned Star India terminated its alliance agreement with Zee Entertainment for the $1.5 billion International Cricket Council (ICC) TV rights on June 20, according to a regulatory filing by Zee.

However, the broadcaster has decided to seek damages during the arbitration proceedings, which have not yet been quantified. Star initiated arbitration proceedings against Zee before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) on March 14.

On Wednesday, Zee stated that Star India terminated the agreement on June 20, citing a breach of contract. The original agreement, signed on August 26, 2022, had positioned Zee as a key player in broadcasting major ICC events, including the ICC Men’s T20 World Cups and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

“During the previous year, Star had sent letters to Zee alleging breach of the Alliance Agreement due to non-payment of dues for the rights fee's first instalment, aggregating to $203.56 million, along with the payment for bank guarantee commission and deposit interest aggregating Rs 17 crore, and financial commitments, including furnishing of corporate guarantee/confirmation as stated in the agreement,” Zee said in its disclosure.

“Based on legal advice, the management believes that Star has not acted in accordance with the Alliance Agreement and has failed to obtain necessary approvals and execute the required documentation and agreements," the company added.

The now-terminated deal would have granted Zee exclusive television rights to major ICC men’s events, including two ICC Men’s T20 World Cups (2024, 2026), the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy (2025), the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (2027), and key ICC U-19 events.


Star India terminates $1.5 billion worth ICC sub-licensing deal with Zee

In a rare development, arch rivals in the broadcast industry -- Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) and Disney Star – have forged a strategic licensing agreement this week.

As per the agreement, Disney Star will license the TV broadcasting rights of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s and under-19 global events for a four-year period to Zee for an undisclosed amount. Disney Star will continue to have exclusive digital rights for its digital platform (Disney+ Hotstar). Zee will make staggered annual payments from CY24 onwards.

Disney Star had won the rights to telecast the ICC tournaments till 2027 for $3 billion after a closed-loop bid process last week.

That deal included both digital and television rights for men's and women's ICC tournaments. It was a big plus for Disney Star, which had lost the digital rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the 2023-27 cycle to Viacom18 in June.

The agreement with Disney Star enables Zee to be the exclusive television rights holder of ICC men’s events, including the coveted ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (2024, 2026), ICC Men’s Champions Trophy (2025), and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (2027), along with key ICC U-19 events.

What do they gain?

Industry analysts believe this deal will help Zee to up its sports content, attracting more ad and channel subscriptions. Disney Star will mitigate its concentration risk in one market when it comes to TV rights and continue to ride the digital wave.

Sandeep Goyal, managing director, Rediffusion, believes that it almost seems like a pre-mediated deal.

“The understanding could not have been reached overnight. In a way, it’s good for both. Disney Star can now concentrate on the selling of IPL, while Zee can put its fullest might behind the ICC offering. The arrangement is a bit unusual but cooperation is the new norm across industries,” he notes.

The deal comes in at an opportune time for Zee as it awaits the merger with Sony.

Will it generate profits?

“If they (Zee) didn’t have this deal, they would have lost an opportunity to own any major India cricket event rights till 2027,” says Naval Seth, Deputy Head of Research at Emkay Global Financial Services. Seth’s analysis says the expensive value of rights such as these often do not end up bringing in any profit.



<blockquote>“The understanding could not have been reached overnight. In a way, it’s good for both. Disney Star can now concentrate on the selling of IPL, while Zee can put its fullest might behind the ICC offering. The arrangement is a bit unusual but cooperation is the new norm across industries,” says Sandeep Goyal</blockquote>



“The prices for these rights (IPL and ICC India cricket events) have gone through the roof and recovering them would become increasingly difficult for the networks. That explains why Star, which has been dominating the India cricket broadcast space, decided to sell part of its rights,” Seth says.

Brilliant and functional move

Some experts are calling it a brilliant and functional move.

Ramsai Panchapakesan, senior-vice president and national head, integrated media buying at Zenith, says four large networks control the complete live sports (cricket) telecast space and each of them have traditionally been very protective about their rights.

But things are changing. The splitting of IPL rights between two large networks has set a new way of scaling up revenue opportunity as the audience pool will get added, when it comes to more than one network.

This has set an optimistic precedent and only goes to show how recovering the sheer volume of money that is invested in these rights becomes a Herculean task for a single network alone, he said.

“The spread is now larger,” notes Panchapakesan. The Zee-Star deal, according to him, has been further strengthened in terms of exercising the might of big media houses to interplay on their own merits.

Why Zee Network?

Panchapakesan breaks it down.

According to him, among the top four networks, Zee is the only 100 percent Indian broadcasting company with deep roots in the markets. Zee is now the single-largest network after it announced a merger with Sony. This deal only widens the horizons for amplifying reach.

As for Zee, this is a scale-up, Panchapakesan says. “Zee is a pioneer in entertainment and regional content, and, in the recent past, marque live cricket events were the missing piece. GEC can fetch limited vertical growth and there is a need to go for horizontal expansion to grow revenue. Hence, no wonder this alignment is highly strategic and it’s a first-of-its-kind partnership in the Indian media and entertainment landscape,” he says.



<blockquote>“The prices for these rights (IPL and ICC India cricket events) have gone through the roof and recovering them would become increasingly difficult for the networks. That explains why Star, which has been dominating the India cricket broadcast space, decided to sell part of its rights,” says Naval Seth</blockquote>



More collaborations on the anvil

Vinay Hegde, chief buying officer, Madison Media, says that the Star-Zee strategic alliance to telecast all ICC Men’s events for 2024-27 is the first-of-its- kind in India. It is similar to how Sky Sports and BT Sports collaborate to broadcast the Premier League.

"For Star, this could also be to ensure the recovery of their huge investments, including IPL and 2024-27 ICC events, and balance their books. For Zee, which has in the past made some unsuccessful forays into sports, this gives an opportunity to also try and establish themselves as the destination for cricket and maybe more. It’s another avenue to monetise, considering cricket is a religion in India, and will have its dedicated viewers," he adds.

For the viewers, this will now mean adding Zee channels to their bouquet (in addition to Star, Sony, Viacom18), making the viewing pool wider for cricket buffs and might have a positive impact on subscription packages.

"Considering investments in acquiring sports broadcast and streaming rights is increasing, this deal could open the doors for more such strategic collaborations in the future to widen the net, enabling better monetisation to recover the investments," Hegde concludes.

Disney Star had retained the television rights of IPL for Rs 23,575 crore, whereas the digital rights were picked up by Viacom18 for Rs 20,500 crore.

Back to merger: About the Zee-Sony deal

A merger between the Indian unit of Japan's Sony and Zee Entertainment to create a $10 billion TV enterprise will potentially hurt competition by having "unparalleled bargaining power", the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) found in an initial review, according to a report by Reuters.

The country's antitrust watchdog on August 3 sent notice to the two companies stating the watchdog is of the view that a further investigation is merited. The CCI's findings are likely to delay regulatory approval of the deal and could force the companies to propose changes to its structure as well.

Sony and Zee in December 2021 decided to merge their television channels, film assets and streaming platforms to create a powerhouse in a key media and entertainment growth market of 1.4 billion people, challenging rivals like Walt Disney Co.

DISNEY STAR