The Walt Disney Company India

The Walt Disney Company India, also simply known as Disney India, is the Indian subsidiary of Disney Branded Television, which is part of the American media and entertainment conglomerate The Walt Disney Company. Disney India is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The Walt Disney Company India
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryMedia conglomerate
FoundedAugust 1993 (1993-08) (as a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and Modi Enterprises)
Headquarters
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Area served
India
Key people
  • K Madhavan (President, The Walt Disney Company India and Disney Star)
Kevin Vaz (CEO) Regional Entertainment, Infotainment and Kids
OwnerThe Walt Disney Company
ParentDisney Entertainment
Divisions
  • Disney India Consumer Products
  • Disney India Interactive
  • Disney Star
SubsidiariesTata Play (30%)
Websitedisney.in

In March 2019, after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, which included the Indian TV giant Star India, Disney India became India's biggest television broadcaster.[1]

History

Joint venture

Walt Disney India was established in August 1993 with a licensing agreement as a joint venture partnership between The Walt Disney Company and Modi Enterprises. Disney had an arrangement in October 2001 with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to create a completely owned subsidiary company to launch the Disney Channel in India. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion granted Disney the initial approval for the subsidiary but Modi protested because of similarities to their joint venture. After the 10-year licensing agreement ended, Modi and Disney were unable to reach a new agreement, thus the joint venture agreement was ended in August 2003.[2]

Walt Disney Television International (Asia Pacific) took over the distribution of content in September 2003 via Star Movies, AXN and HBO plus 29 hours of children's programs per week via DD Metro, Eenadu, SET, Star Plus and Star World.[3]

Completely owned subsidiary

The Walt Disney Company (India) Private Limited started operations in July 2004 and is based in Mumbai.[4] On 17 December 2004, Walt Disney Television International India launched the Disney Channel and Toon Disney channel with five language feeds (English, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil). The channels were to be distributed by the Star Group.[5][6][7] Disney India planned to initially focus on its channel operations before expanding into other areas. In the long term, a Disney theme park in India is possible as land has been reportedly found on the outskirts of Delhi.[8] Also in December, with UTV Indiagames as a partner, Disney Interactive released Disney games, wallpapers and ringtones in the market which are also available on Bharti Airtel. In 2005, Disney Consumer Products (DCP) began working with various Indian retail outlets to establish Disney Corners within the outlets to sell licensed merchandise.[9] In August, Funskool India and Disney entered into a contract for Funskool to sell Disney Princess products in India.[10]

Disney India and Yash Raj Films agreed to co-produce and co-finance a yearly animated film for the Indian market in January 2007. Both companies would also work together on merchandising and games for the films.[11]

In July 2006, Disney India acquired a controlling stake in Hungama TV from UTV Software Communications Limited while also taking a 14.9% share in UTV.[12] In 2008, the company took an additional 17.5% stake in UTV.[13]

On 26 September 2006, the Disney Jeans brand was launched under license to Indus Clothing, which planned to open 30 Disney Jean stores by the end of 2007.[14] In October, DCP franchised to Ravi Jaipuria Corporation the rights for five years to set up 150 Disney Artist brand stores and wholesale under the Disney Artist brand Disney character branded greeting cards, stationery, arts, crafts and party products in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Maldives.[15]

Disney Publishing Worldwide, a division of Walt Disney India, announced a licensing agreement in April 2009 with local publisher Junior Diamond to publish Disney comic books, in both English and Hindi.[16] Jetix/Toon Disney was switched over in India to Disney XD on 14 November.[7]

In May 2011, Disney and UTV agreed to co-produce Disney branded family films with both handling creative functions and UTV producing, marketing, and distributing the films.[4] Walt Disney Company (South East Asia) Pvt Ltd. in July 2011 offered to purchase the public shareholders' stakes with approval given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for them to increase their ownership. In February 2012, Disney announced the completion of the acquisition of UTV with UTV Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Screwvala becoming Managing Director of TWDC India[17] replacing Mahesh Samat, who joined the company in 2007 from Johnson & Johnson.[18]

In October 2012, Disney launched Disney Junior, an ad-free channel for preschool kids. Earlier it was a one-and-a-half-hour programming block on Disney Channel India.[19] Disney India launched its Live Entertainment operations in 2015 with the production of a Beauty and the Beast musical to be shown from October to December in Mumbai and Delhi.[20]

Disney India indicated in August 2016 that it was shutting down UTV Motion Pictures, its Hindi film production unit, and focusing only on the distribution of its Hollywood films. Disney India managing director Siddharth Roy Kapur also indicated he would let his contract lapse on 1 January 2017.[21] On 28 November 2016, Mahesh Samat was to return as managing director, four years after he left the company.[18]

On 12 September 2017, Walt Disney International announced a restructuring of its business in Asia, and that Mahesh Samat is to lead the new Disney South Asia division, combining India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.[22]

On 5 October 2017, The Walt Disney Company India officially announced the launch of Disney International HD on 29 October 2017. The channel was to be the exclusive home to live-action Disney Channel original content.[23] The channel will not have any animation content and will be replacing Bindass Play.[24]

Disney launched its second HD channel UTV HD on 21 October 2018, showing Bollywood and Hollywood films in Hindi. It premieres a new movie every Friday.[25]

On 7 November 2017, Disney announced the promotion of Abhishek Maheshwari as country head for India. He was to report to Mahesh Samat, Walt Disney International South Asia managing director.[26] On 14 December 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, which includes Star India.[27]

Consumers Products licensed DLF Brands for Disney & Me stores that opened in April 2018.[28] The Live Entertainment division's second musical, Aladdin, premiered on 20 April 2018.[29]

On 13 December 2018, Disney announced Uday Shankar, who serves as president of Fox Asia and chairman of Star India, will lead Disney's Asian Pacific region and chairman of Disney India after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, including Star India closes.[30] On 1 April 2019, Uday Shankar, president of Disney Asia Pacific, announced the restructuring of the complete entity of Star India and Disney, while Sanjay Gupta will lead the Indian businesses and head the Disney Studios India and Fox Star Studios in India, directly reporting to Uday Shankar who is also Chairman of Star and Disney India.[31] Gupta resigned as country head in November 2019, while UTV channels were merged into the Star India bouquet.[32]

Disney XD was replaced with Marvel HQ channel on 20 January 2019 at noon.[33] Star India networks took over the distribution of Disney channels in July 2019. Disney Channel, Hungama TV, Marvel HQ and Disney Junior became part of the Disney Kids Pack while Bindass and Disney International HD became part of the Star Value Pack.[34] Later, in February 2020, Star Gold underwent a branding overhaul, while its sister channel Movies OK was replaced by Star Gold 2.

On 30 December 2020, Disney announced that the Star branding will be replaced with Utsav from 1 February in the Netherlands.[35]

On 26 January 2022, Tata Sky was rebranded into Tata Play.[36]

Marvel HQ was replaced with the Super Hungama channel on 1 March 2022.[37]

On 14 April 2022, The Walt Disney Company India rebranded Star India to Disney Star.[38]

On 27 May 2022, Fox Star Studios was renamed Star Studios, as part of the removal of the "Fox" name from the studios that had been acquired from 21st Century Fox by Disney.[39]

Following a long-awaited restructuring paradigm, Disney announced plans to shut down the UTV brand, with UTV Movies, UTV HD and UTV Action being replaced respectively by Star Gold Romance, the HD feed of Star Gold 2 and Star Gold Thrills.[40]

Units

Current Units
Store Licencee Start Date Closed Date
Disney Corners Departments April 2005[9]
Disney Jeans Indus Clothing 26 September 2006[14]
Disney Artist Ravi Jaipuria Corporation 10 October 2006[15]
Disney & Me DLF Brands April 2018[28]
shopDisney 23 November 2020[41]

Former Units

Walt Disney Pictures India
Year Film Director Producer(s) Co-production Co. Notes Ref.
2008 Roadside Romeo Jugal Hansraj Aditya Chopra
Animated Film
National Film Award for Best Animated Film[43]
Nominated- Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture[44]		 [11][45]
2010 Do Dooni Chaar Habib Faisal Arindam Chaudhuri Planman Motion Pictures National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi[46] [47]
2011 Feluda: The Kathmandu Caper Tapaas Chakravarti distribution only
DQ Entertainment International		 Animated TV Movie [48]
Anaganaga O Dheerudu Prakash Kovelamudi Prasad Devineni
Prakash Kovelamudi
Telugu film [49]
Zokkomon Satyajit Bhatkal [50]
2012 Arjun: The Warrior Prince Arnab Chaudhuri Ronnie Screwvala
Siddharth Roy Kapur		 UTV Motion Pictures Animated Film
Nominated – Grand Prix at 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival[51]		 [52]
Luck Luck Ki Baat Iqbal Khan Disney Channel India SOL Productions Television film
Remake of 2001 Disney Channel original movie The Luck of the Irish		 [53]
2014 Khoobsurat Shashanka Ghosh Fawad Khan
  • UTV Motion Pictures
  • Anil Kapoor Film Company
 [54]
2015 ABCD 2 Remo D'Souza Siddharth Roy Kapur UTV Motion Pictures Sequel to the 2013 film ABCD: Any Body Can Dance. [55]
2016 Apna Bhai Gaju Bhai Sandeep Patil and Aarsh Vohra Disney Channel India Toonz Animation Animated TV movie
based on Disney Channel's animated TV series Gaju Bhai		 [56]
Dangal Nitesh Tiwari
Aamir Khan Productions
UTV Motion Pictures		 Highest Grossing Indian film till date. [57]
2017 Jagga Jasoos Anurag Basu Anurag Basu
Ranbir Kapoor
Siddharth Roy Kapur
  • PictureShuru Entertainment
  • UTV Motion Pictures
  • Ishana Movies
 [58]

Home Entertainment

The following Indian films were released under the Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment banner.

Home Entertainment Release date Film International Title Original Theatrical Release date Production Company Notes Ref.
12 January 2010 Taare Zameen Par Like Stars on Earth 21 December 2007 Aamir Khan Productions and PVR Pictures [59]
26 July 2011 Anaganaga O Dheerudu Once Upon a Warrior 14 January 2011 Disney India, A Bellyful of Dreams Entertainment, Arka Media Works and Disney World Cinema Part of Disney World Cinema series [60]
Do Dooni Chaar Two Twos Are Four 8 October 2010 Disney India, Planman Motion Pictures and Disney World Cinema
Zokkomon Zokkomon 22 April 2011 Disney India and Disney World Cinema

Disney Live Entertainment
Musicals

See also

Notes

    References
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