Here's how Murdoch partner is helping Ambani build a media empire

Elsewhere in the city, hundreds of employees of Viacom18 Media Pvt. are on different mission, transmitting the match in 12 languages and 20 camera angles across the world’s most-populous country.

“We are targeting over 600 million people to come and watch,” said Uday Shankar, the executive behind the effort. 

Once an underdog dwarfed by foreign behemoths, Viacom18 and its JioCinema streaming service are poised to become the most powerful player in the $28 billion Indian media and entertainment industry. Reliance Industries Ltd., Viacom18’s largest shareholder, has plans to merge the business with Walt Disney Co.’s India operations, adding dozens of cable TV channels and tens of millions of streaming subscribers in a deal valuing the combined enterprise at $8.5 billion. 

With everything from local news to big Hollywood films, the new company aims to capture not just a bigger share of TV ad sales, but the growing digital revenue now going to tech giants like YouTube and Meta Platforms Inc. Viacom18 could also become a broader rival to Amazon.com Inc. if it follows through on plans to integrate e-commerce into its streaming platform. 

Shankar, the 61-year-old executive who’s going to lead Viacom18 as vice chairman, is a media veteran. A former journalist, he helped turn Star India into a prized asset for the Murdoch family, which then sold their entertainment assets to Disney in 2019. Now he’s overseeing the group buying back that business. His role as a bridge between Hollywood and Bollywood will make him a key player in the media strategy being implemented by Reliance, a company with interests from energy to telecommunications.