India’s entertainment landscape shifted Thursday as Reliance Industries and Disney completed their long-awaited media merger, creating an Indian powerhouse valued at $8.5 billion. The deal combines Disney’s Star India with Reliance’s Viacom18 and streaming platforms JioCinema and Hotstar.

Media and entertainment heavyweights Reliance Industries (RIL) and Walt Disney have completed the merger of their various Indian media assets - including the Viacom18 and Star India broadcasters - in a deal worth $8.

Disney and Reliance Industries have completed the $8.5B deal to form a media and entertainment giant in India.