Disney is bringing its video streaming service to India; Reliance to acquire majority stake in NowFloats

Entertainment giant Disney is launching its on-demand video streaming services to India. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries  is in advanced stages to acquire a 51% stake in SaaS startup NowFloats.

Disney’s video streaming service to launch in India by the end of 2020

Lake Buena Vista, US-based Walt Disney Company is planning to launch its on-demand video streaming services in India and some Southeast Asian markets by the second half of 2020, according to a report by TechCrunch.

The company plans to bring  Disney plus’ (stylised as Disney+) catalog to video streaming platform Hotstar, operated by Star India.

It also plans to expand its Hotstar with the Disney plus catalog to Indonesia and Malaysia, among other Southeast Asian nations,  the report said.

The company claims to expand its services to Australia and New Zealand by next week, and the U.K., Germany, Italy, France and Spain on March 31, 2020.

Disney plus is currently available in the U.S, Canada and the Netherlands, it added. 

It also plans to raise the monthly subscription fee of Hotsart in India which is currently fixed at $14 / year.

Reliance to acquire a controlling stake in SaaS startup NowFloats

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries  is in advanced stages to acquire a 51% stake in SaaS startup NowFloats, Enrackr reports.

The negotiations were underway for the past two months. The deal might be sealed later this month, the report said.

Reliance had recently acquired controlling stakes in several startups like education-tech startup Embibe, chat-bot maker Haptik and retail tech startup Fynd.