According to a recent report, Blackstone, a private equity firm based in the United States, and Walt Disney have engaged in initial discussions regarding the potential acquisition of a share in Disney's Indian entertainment business. Blackstone is reportedly exploring options, which may include a sale or a partnership, for Disney's digital and television operations within the Indian market. Two individuals familiar with the situation revealed to Reuters that discussions were spearheaded by Candle Media, a U.S. media company backed by Blackstone and founded by former Disney executives, during the previous week.

This development follows recent reports that Disney had discussions with billionaires Gautam Adani and Kalanithi Maran, who owns the Sun TV Network. The reports suggested that Disney is considering various options, which may involve selling a portion of its Indian operations or a combination of assets from the unit.

Disney’s Indian business takes a hit

Disney has been experiencing a decline in subscribers, which was particularly accelerated during the Indian Premier League (IPL). The company lost the rights to stream the tournament, and Jio offered free streaming of the IPL on Jio Cinema. To regain its foothold in the Indian market, Disney has taken steps to attract viewers, such as offering free cricket streaming on smartphones.

Additionally, Disney launched a set of features for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. These features include improved live feeds and video streaming, as well as AI-based enhancements for video clarity. MaxView, which allows users to watch matches in portrait mode, was developed in collaboration with the International Cricket Council (ICC). They also introduced an "Always-On Cricket Scorecard Pill" that enables users to keep track of live cricket action while consuming other content on the app.

In July, reports indicated that Disney+ Hotstar was planning to enforce a new policy restricting premium users to log in from only four devices, which is likely a measure to manage account sharing and maintain control over access to their premium content.