JioCinema platform could soon be shut down. When Reliance Jio announced free IPL streaming on its JioCinema it shook the entire market. Now, Mukesh Ambani might make a major decision regarding the platform.
Jio Cinema May Shut Down: Attention JioCinema subscribers may soon face a major change, as Mukesh Ambani’s OTT platform could be shut down in the coming days. JioCinema witnessed a tremendous surge in subscriptions because of IPL matches. Many youngsters subscribed the OTT platform for movies and the free streaming of cricket matches. Notably, when Reliance Jio announced free IPL streaming on its platform, it shook the entire OTT market. However, Mukesh Ambani might take a significant decision regarding JioCinema in the coming days.
The Major Deal Could Be The Reason
The acquisition deal between Reliance Industries, and Disney is almost finalised. The announcement of the deal is also expected soon. Once the deal is signed, Mukesh Ambani will control the Disney Star Network and its business, prompting a potential major decision.
As per report cited by ET sources, once the deal between Reliance and Disney is done, the Mukesh Ambani company may opt to consolidate its OTT platforms. Simply means that JioCinema might merged with ‘Disney+ Hotstar.’ After the merger, the company, instead of operating two separate OTT platforms, might continue with only Disney+ Hotstar.
Not The First Time For Reliance
It is worth noting that Reliance Industries has previously took similar decision when Viacom 18’s ‘Voot’ was merged into JioCinema.
The Major Deal
Reliance Industries is nearly done crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s on its acquisition deal with Disney’s Star India division – all the necessary regulatory formalities are underway. Once the process is complete, Reliance will be at the helm of the newly formed entity, Star-Viacom 18.
The merger of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar can be largely attributed to Disney+ Hotstar’s impressive achievement, such as over 50 million installations from the Google Play Store. This, compared with JioCinema’s 100 million downloads, indicates a significant milestone. What’s more is Disney+ Hotstar boasts a whopping 35.5 million invested subscribers, which certainly boosts its prestige in the highly competitive OTT landscape.