Disney Star Set to Lose Mihir Rale, Key to IPL Rights and Disney+ Hotstar

Disney Star appears to have lost another key executive, as legal head Mihir Rale is stepping down just as the $8.5 billion merger of Reliance and Disney's Indian media assets is nearing completion, according to sources familiar with the situation, as reported by ET Online.

Mihir Rale, currently Chief Regional Counsel at Disney Star, joined Star India as a manager in 2009 and became head of operations in India in 2019. During his time at Star India, he was instrumental in creating the Media Pro joint venture and acquiring the ESPN stake in the ESPN Star Sports joint venture. He also established joint ventures for the company’s football and Kabaddi initiatives. Mihir played a key role in securing major sports rights, including those for the IPL, BCCI, and ICC, and was involved in the launch of Disney+ Hotstar in India.

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance had in February this year signed a binding agreement with Disney to merge the media operations in India, the world’s most populous country with diverse demography that consumes high volume of media content.

The merger between Reliance Industries Limited's Viacom18 and Walt Disney's Star India is anticipated to be finalized in early November, pending regulatory approvals in India, according to sources cited by ET. This merger will create the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in India, valued at $8.5 billion. Under the agreement, Viacom18 will transfer its assets to Star India, which will operate as the primary entity post-merger.

Last week, reports indicated that Sajith Sivanandan, head of Disney's Hotstar streaming app in India, had resigned. Additionally, K Madhavan, who held the position of Country Manager and President of Disney Star, also reportedly stepped down. 

These resignations come shortly after a decision was made to stream all live sports events for the merged company, including the popular Indian Premier League (IPL), on Disney's Hotstar app rather than Reliance's JioCinema.

ET also reported, citing sources, that after the merger of Star India and Viacom18, Reliance will maintain Disney+ Hotstar as the sole streaming platform.