Tata Group mulls buying Walt Disney's share in Tata Play: Reports

Delhi: The Tata Group is intending to buy Walt Disney Co.'s stake in Tata Play, with the goal of acquiring full ownership of the direct-to-home (DTH) service provider.

As per the media reports, there are initial talks happening about possibly buying Disney's big share in Tata Play. This could mean Tata Play might be worth $1 billion or more. However, Tata Group might decide not to go ahead with the deal in the end.

Tata Sky, which was later renamed Tata Play, started in 2004 as a joint venture with Tata Sons owning 80% and Network Digital Distribution Services FZ-LLC (NDDS), a part of 21st Century Fox, owning 20%. Due to India's restriction on foreign direct investment (FDI) in DTH services at 20%, Fox could only hold a 20% stake. After Disney acquired Fox for $71 billion, it also became a stakeholder in Tata Play.

In 2022, Tata Sky changed its name and identity to Tata Play, removing the brand name Sky. Later that year, Tata Play made its OTT aggregator app, Tata Play Binge, accessible to all users. Previously, the app was exclusively for Tata Play DTH subscribers.

Tata Play expanded content offerings on Tata Play Binge, their streaming service, by including Apple TV+ last year.

The recent development follows Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Viacom18 and The Walt Disney Company signing agreements to establish a joint venture (JV). This JV will merge the operations of Viacom18 and Star India.