Asia's Two Richest Men Prepare For Battle With Netflix, Amazon
NDTV
Viacom18 Media Pvt., Mukesh Ambani's local joint venture with Paramount Global, is set to receive 135 billion rupees ($1.8 billion) in a funding round led by James Murdoch-backed Bodhi Tree Systems.
Asia's two richest men -- Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani -- are doubling down on India's media sector, intensifying competition in an arena where Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are also vying for more than a billion viewers.
Viacom18 Media Pvt., Ambani's local joint venture with Paramount Global, is set to receive 135 billion rupees ($1.8 billion) in a funding round led by James Murdoch-backed Bodhi Tree Systems. Adani Enterprises Ltd., the tycoon's flagship company, said separately that it has established a new media subsidiary, signaling his ambitions to tap the growing market.
The Viacom18 investment and Adani's entry into media mark a new phase in the battle for eyeballs and content in a market with a robust local film industry, a growing middle class and rapidly expanding access to the internet. But it's also proved to be a tough market. Struggling to add subscribers, Netflix, for instance, has had to cut its fees to lure price-conscious users.
Still, "India is the only full-scale, high-growth opportunity in Asia outside of China," said Vivek Couto, executive director at Media Partners Asia. "Indonesia is also there, but it's still a few pegs down still in terms of scalability."
