# Disney’s Reliance JV loss narrows to $44 mn in June quarter 2026-08-26T23:27:44+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Walt Disney’s share of losses from its Indian joint venture with Reliance Industries narrowed to $44 million in the quarter ended June 27, down from $50 million a year earlier, reflecting improving finances at the merged entity JioStar. For the nine months to June, Disney reported a $136 million loss from the venture, compared with $186 million a year ago. Disney owns 37% of JioStar, formed in November 2024 by merging Disney’s Star India and Disney+ Hotstar with Reliance-controlled Viacom18. JioStar reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue up 46.5% to Rs 30,819 crore and profit after tax surging to Rs 3,145 crore from Rs 18 crore in FY25. Reliance holds 56% and Bodhi Tree Systems 7% of the venture. JioStar also reduced its provision for onerous sports contracts to Rs 17,742 crore from Rs 25,760 crore a year earlier, with no fresh provisions made. The company said certain sports-event contracts remain classified as onerous because expected customer revenues may fall short of costs. Disney’s year-earlier results were also weighed down by impairments, including a $185 million charge for its investment in Tata Play. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The narrowing of Disney’s JV loss tracks a rare swing to profitability in India’s fiercely competitive media market, where deep-pocketed players have long run sports- and streaming-led operations at a loss. JioStar’s reduced provision for onerous sports contracts signals that cricket rights, the costliest item in Indian broadcasting, are being priced more realistically. The JV now commands about 40% of television viewership and a dominant share of digital sports audiences, giving it bargaining power with advertisers. The next pressure point will be subscription pricing: JioStar has kept tariffs low to gain market share, and its ability to raise those without triggering churn will determine whether the profit swing is sustainable. Disney’s 37% stake also means it shares downside if Reliance pushes for aggressive investment in new content deals. ## Coverage - economictimes.indiatimes.com Straightforward business reporting of financial results with no editorial slant This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: jiostar, Reliance Industries, Star India, Tata Play, Viacom18, Walt Disney Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/disneys-reliance-jv-loss-narrows-to-44-mn-in-june-quarter/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/disneys-reliance-jv-loss-narrows-to-44-mn-in-june-quarter/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/