Mukesh Ambani Welcomes Disney to the Reliance Family, Reveals Plans for World’s Lowest-Cost AI: ‘Beginning of a New Era in Indian Entertainment’

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chair of India’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), hailed the landmark partnership with Disney and revealed ambitious AI plans at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday.

India‘s Competition Commission approved the proposed $8.5 billion merger of key entertainment assets between RIL and The Walt Disney Company in India, subject to voluntary modifications, on Wednesday.

Ambani wasted no time and acted like the merger is now a done deal. He described the Disney deal as “the beginning of a new era in India’s entertainment industry.”

“We are combining content creation with digital streaming,” Ambani said, outlining a strategy to “deliver unparalleled content at affordable prices” across the spectrum of consumer tastes.

“We are excited about this partnership. I warmly welcome Disney to the Reliance family,” Ambani said, positioning the expanded media business as a key growth driver for the conglomerate.

RIL’s media and entertainment division achieved over $1.2 billion in revenue, representing a 49% growth. Viacom18, RIL’s entertainment arm, saw even stronger performance with 62% growth, driven by its sports segment, Ambani said.

JioCinema, the company’s streaming platform, reached significant milestones. This year’s edition of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament on JioCinema attracted 620 million Indian viewers, a 38% increase from the previous year. Total viewership grew by 50%, making it “the most-watched livestream event in the world,” according to Ambani. The platform’s new subscription pack, offering originals, reality shows, movies, and content from HBO, Paramount and NBCU, gained 15 million paying subscribers in its first 100 days, Ambani revealed.

In the television space, Colors climbed to the number one position among Hindi-language channels, while the company’s news networks dominated viewership, Ambani said. News18 led election coverage, CNBC TV18 captured 82% viewership share on budget day, and CNN News18 has held the top spot for over two years.

Digital properties also showed strength, with Moneycontrol boasting 70 million unique visitors and its premium service, MC Pro, counting over 850,000 paid subscribers. Firstpost is expanding globally, recording 127 million video views in July, Ambani said.

On the telecoms front, Jio has amassed over 490 million customers and completed its pan-India 5G network rollout. Ambani set an ambitious target to double Jio’s revenues and EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) within three to four years. The company also launched JioAirFiber, its 5G-based home broadband service, aiming to add 1 million new customers monthly.

Artificial intelligence emerged as a major focus, with Ambani unveiling the “Jio AI Everywhere For Everyone” vision. The company plans to build a national AI infrastructure, including data centers, with the goal of creating the “world’s lowest AI inferencing cost” in India. Reliance is developing “Jio Brain,” a suite of AI tools and platforms, and will offer 100 GB of free cloud storage to Jio users starting in November during the Diwali festival holiday to support AI services.

“In entertainment, AI can create personalised experiences for users, making content more engaging and relevant,” Ambani said.