MUMBAI: The recent grand announcement suggesting media mogul James Murdoch and Uday Shankar will acquire close to 40% stake in Viacom18 as part of their “coming together with Reliance Industries along with some other players”, and plan to invest Rs 12,000 crore in entertainment and sports broadcasting business made ripples in the American markets last week.
Industry executives whispered how ‘Burbank’ – a city in the Los Angeles County of California, popularly referred to address the Walt Disney Studios based out of there – stood “shaken” by the development. On Monday, K Madhavan, the reticent, media-shy president at Walt Disney India, gave an interview saying his company would stay “bullish on all sports rights renewals,” and the timing of his statement was further seen as an effort on part of the company to frantically convey they are very much part of the competition.
The Zee-Sony merger is being seen as a catalyst to these developments, but individuals in that very camp are watching in rapt attention what’s coming next.
Amazon, the e-retail giant that also happens to be among the leading OTT players and has been actually ‘bullish’ in the sports rights market lately, must be watching closely too.
The whispers are thick and loud. Is there a new player that hasn’t shown its hand yet? Could be Comcast, could be Temasek, could be Blackstone — speculations are on.
There’s quite a bit of talk already that Shankar and Murdoch’s JV – Lupa Systems – could come in with less than 10% stake in this new set-up; Viacom18 could go on to hold another 10 to 11% while a new player stepping in could come with the remaining 30 to 31%. Reliance’s own step-down subsidiary TV18 continues to hold the remaining 51%.
Here in India though, those in the fray already are seeking answers to this Big Question first: Why are Murdoch and Shankar planning to return to the very space in which they were undisputed market leaders already, decided to sell out, and cash in three years ago?
James is media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s younger son. The Murdochs had sold 21st Century Fox to the Walt Disney Company in 2019 in a deal valued at US$71.3b.
Shankar, meanwhile, was the architect of Fox’s India business, Star, and the man who founded Hotstar. Fox’s India business alone went on to become 18% of the overall deal at which Murdochs sold the company to Disney. A good chunk of that 18% was cricket alone – with IPL at the helm.
“When names like these make a splash again, the industry is bound to sit and take note,” says a media veteran, tracking developments.
Constantly in denial that he would return to the very space he quit one-and-half years ago, the news of Shankar’s return, especially at a time when cricket rights in India and globally estimated to be worth around US$7b are set to go on sale, can only suggest one thing: The ‘actual players’ looking to build a war-chest for the next media rights cycle want someone to guide them from right at the top than they building the business from scratch – what Shankar had done with Star India 10 years ago.
“Then who better than Shankar? Ten years ago, the industry landscape was changing at a time where new players were needed. He led Star India from scratch and made things happen. But this time, we’re already seeing market consolidations at play. So, if a new company or JV has to step in, it has to step in right at the top and there’s not much time left either. So, what they need more than most is someone to guide them,” say sources watching developments.
American telecom conglomerate Comcast, based out of Philadelphia and with massive interests in content production, has been looking to enter Indian markets for a while now. In July 2019, the company had made an offer to buy out Zee promoters but backed off with the understanding that they would not retain control.
Even if they enter in the present scenario with Murdoch and Shankar, Comcast will once again not have any control. Then why is the name being speculated? “Because it’s now or never. They have been looking to enter the Indian markets for a while now. This is one last big opportunity for them. And probably the realization that they’ll not be able to enter this space with overall control, so why not begin somewhere?” say those tracking these developments.
Temasek Singapore, a state holding company of the government, that manages portfolios worth US$400b, is also looking for an entry. “We’re getting more comfortable with deployment of capital in India,” the Temasek-India head was quoted as saying last year.
New York-based alternative investment management company Blackstone, that has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts, is the easiest among speculations given the US$600b-plus assets managed by the company.
One of these is being seen as the ‘hidden hand’ in the move behind Murdoch and Shankar and there’s fierce prediction it could be Comcast, not Temasek. But there’s little to confirm any of this until things are said on record.
An investor like Blackstone will one again allow Shankar to be the elephant in the room, that he once was before Star went to Disney.
Those who’ve watched Shankar closely the last few years can’t deny he left Disney with a lot on his mind. “He moved on as president, Disney APAC, only when the company appointed Rebecca Campbell for the top-job at Burbank. But who knows? Maybe his interests in this space never waned,” say those who’ve seen him from closer quarters.
In snatching the very (cricket) rights from Disney that he brought to them on a platter all those years ago could be Shankar’s one final splendid drive along the covers.
Industry executives whispered how ‘Burbank’ – a city in the Los Angeles County of California, popularly referred to address the Walt Disney Studios based out of there – stood “shaken” by the development. On Monday, K Madhavan, the reticent, media-shy president at Walt Disney India, gave an interview saying his company would stay “bullish on all sports rights renewals,” and the timing of his statement was further seen as an effort on part of the company to frantically convey they are very much part of the competition.
The Zee-Sony merger is being seen as a catalyst to these developments, but individuals in that very camp are watching in rapt attention what’s coming next.
Amazon, the e-retail giant that also happens to be among the leading OTT players and has been actually ‘bullish’ in the sports rights market lately, must be watching closely too.
The whispers are thick and loud. Is there a new player that hasn’t shown its hand yet? Could be Comcast, could be Temasek, could be Blackstone — speculations are on.
There’s quite a bit of talk already that Shankar and Murdoch’s JV – Lupa Systems – could come in with less than 10% stake in this new set-up; Viacom18 could go on to hold another 10 to 11% while a new player stepping in could come with the remaining 30 to 31%. Reliance’s own step-down subsidiary TV18 continues to hold the remaining 51%.
Here in India though, those in the fray already are seeking answers to this Big Question first: Why are Murdoch and Shankar planning to return to the very space in which they were undisputed market leaders already, decided to sell out, and cash in three years ago?
James is media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s younger son. The Murdochs had sold 21st Century Fox to the Walt Disney Company in 2019 in a deal valued at US$71.3b.
Shankar, meanwhile, was the architect of Fox’s India business, Star, and the man who founded Hotstar. Fox’s India business alone went on to become 18% of the overall deal at which Murdochs sold the company to Disney. A good chunk of that 18% was cricket alone – with IPL at the helm.
“When names like these make a splash again, the industry is bound to sit and take note,” says a media veteran, tracking developments.
Constantly in denial that he would return to the very space he quit one-and-half years ago, the news of Shankar’s return, especially at a time when cricket rights in India and globally estimated to be worth around US$7b are set to go on sale, can only suggest one thing: The ‘actual players’ looking to build a war-chest for the next media rights cycle want someone to guide them from right at the top than they building the business from scratch – what Shankar had done with Star India 10 years ago.
“Then who better than Shankar? Ten years ago, the industry landscape was changing at a time where new players were needed. He led Star India from scratch and made things happen. But this time, we’re already seeing market consolidations at play. So, if a new company or JV has to step in, it has to step in right at the top and there’s not much time left either. So, what they need more than most is someone to guide them,” say sources watching developments.
American telecom conglomerate Comcast, based out of Philadelphia and with massive interests in content production, has been looking to enter Indian markets for a while now. In July 2019, the company had made an offer to buy out Zee promoters but backed off with the understanding that they would not retain control.
Even if they enter in the present scenario with Murdoch and Shankar, Comcast will once again not have any control. Then why is the name being speculated? “Because it’s now or never. They have been looking to enter the Indian markets for a while now. This is one last big opportunity for them. And probably the realization that they’ll not be able to enter this space with overall control, so why not begin somewhere?” say those tracking these developments.
Temasek Singapore, a state holding company of the government, that manages portfolios worth US$400b, is also looking for an entry. “We’re getting more comfortable with deployment of capital in India,” the Temasek-India head was quoted as saying last year.
New York-based alternative investment management company Blackstone, that has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts, is the easiest among speculations given the US$600b-plus assets managed by the company.
One of these is being seen as the ‘hidden hand’ in the move behind Murdoch and Shankar and there’s fierce prediction it could be Comcast, not Temasek. But there’s little to confirm any of this until things are said on record.
An investor like Blackstone will one again allow Shankar to be the elephant in the room, that he once was before Star went to Disney.
Those who’ve watched Shankar closely the last few years can’t deny he left Disney with a lot on his mind. “He moved on as president, Disney APAC, only when the company appointed Rebecca Campbell for the top-job at Burbank. But who knows? Maybe his interests in this space never waned,” say those who’ve seen him from closer quarters.
In snatching the very (cricket) rights from Disney that he brought to them on a platter all those years ago could be Shankar’s one final splendid drive along the covers.
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