TV still holds immense growth potential in India which is why even companies like Sony which are selling its TV broadcast business in various other territories but deciding to continue having presence in this segment in India.
Joint Ventures help scale up the business better in a market where competition is stiff and there r various other challenges faced due to constant changes + disruption in media landscape. Disney most likely will opt for this business model rather than exiting India, they r looking at a way to reduce debt so not investing in sporting properties where investment heavily outscore revenue or profits/Return Of Investment r hard to achieve and build a OTT service where expansion can happen but with similar strategy where losses r minimised. Having a JV will bring in required financial and other resources to grow in both sectors and compete with rivals in most efficient manner.
As i have read / understood thru various articles, Disney basically is facing more of a challenge in International Markets as its movies, theme parks and TV Channels are underperforming or creating losses since last few years ... .in India they have a highly successful TV business where growth is quite good , OTT too has had a good run and with some tweaking in strategy will further grow. Profit Margins or Revenue might be not that high if u compare it by converting in dollars but same was case when Star India business was run by Mudrochs hence that is not any barrier or issue which is a thing to worry about .....There r factors other than India Business which have had lot more role to play why Disney is considering all the restructuring to cut down on debts
In OTT space too revenue /growth is dwindling
m.economictimes.com
