The Walt Disney Company is betting big on India as American consumers abandon the woke entertainment giant in droves.
Disney is teaming up with Asia’s richest man to set up a new media giant in India expected to reach more than 750 million people. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Disney will combine their digital streaming platforms and 100 television channels in a joint venture worth about $8.5 billion, the companies announced this week.
The venture will give Disney access to a consumer market more than twice the size of the U.S.
Disney already operates a streaming app, Hotstar, in India, but the service is in trouble after losing the digital rights to stream the hugely popular Indian Premier League cricket games to Ambani’s company. I’m depressed.
This new venture appears to be Disney’s effort to win back those viewers and further expand its reach on the subcontinent.
Disney’s big move in India comes as the company has fallen on hard times at home as American consumers become increasingly disillusioned with Disney’s embrace of far-left politics and LGBTQ messages for children. It was done while I was there.
The Disney+ streaming service’s domestic subscriber base has stagnated at about 46 million people for the past year, an ominous sign for the only four-year-old streaming service. In the most recent quarter, the service reportedly lost 400,000 domestic customers, the largest domestic customer loss in Disney+ history.
CEO Bob Iger is struggling to pull Disney out of financial trouble after churning out an unprecedented series of box office failures. He also oversaw one of the largest layoffs in the company’s history, cutting 7,000 jobs worldwide last year.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @oyaji0919. Any tips? Please contact us at dng@breitbart.com
