Walt Disney’s loss from its Indian joint venture with Reliance Industries, JioStar, narrowed to $44 million in the quarter ended June 27, 2026, compared with a $50 million loss in the year-ago quarter. The improvement reflects a broader turnaround at JioStar, the media company created by combining Disney’s Indian television and streaming assets with businesses controlled by Reliance.
The improvement is more significant when viewed over the full financial year. JioStar’s operating revenue rose 46.5% to ₹30,819 crore in FY26, from ₹21,044 crore in FY25, while profit after tax surged to ₹3,145 crore from just ₹18 crore. At the same time, the company reduced provisions for potentially loss-making sports contracts to ₹17,742 crore from ₹25,760 crore, signaling a gradual improvement in the economics of its large sports-rights portfolio.
JioStar Financial Performance At A Glance
| Particular | Latest / FY26 |
|---|---|
| Disney’s June-quarter loss | $44 million |
| Year-ago Disney loss | $50 million |
| Disney loss, nine months | $136 million |
| Year-ago nine-month loss | $186 million |
| FY26 JioStar operating revenue | ₹30,819 crore |
| FY25 operating revenue | ₹21,044 crore |
| FY26 profit after tax | ₹3,145 crore |
| FY25 profit after tax | ₹18 crore |
| FY26 sports-contract provision | ₹17,742 crore |
| FY25 sports-contract provision | ₹25,760 crore |
| Reliance stake | 56% |
| Disney stake | 37% |
| Bodhi Tree Systems stake | 7% |
Disney owns 37% of JioStar, while Reliance has a controlling 56% interest and Bodhi Tree Systems owns the remaining 7%. Disney accounts for its share of JioStar’s results as equity income or loss rather than consolidating the joint venture’s full financials.
Disney’s India Losses Are Narrowing
Disney reported a $44 million equity loss from its Indian joint venture for the June quarter, down from $50 million a year earlier.
For the nine months ended June 27, Disney’s loss from the venture declined to $136 million, compared with $186 million in the corresponding period last year.
Disney’s JioStar Loss Trend
Nine Months
Previous Year
$186 million loss
↓
Current Year
$136 million loss
Improvement
$50 millionThe narrowing loss is particularly relevant for Disney because the company no longer consolidates the former Star India business following the Reliance transaction.
Instead, Disney records only its share of JioStar’s profit or loss.
Reliance-Disney Merger Created JioStar
JioStar was formed in November 2024 by combining Disney’s Indian media assets with businesses controlled by Reliance Industries.
The transaction brought together:
- Star-branded television channels
- General entertainment channels
- Sports television channels
- Disney+ Hotstar, now JioHotstar
- Viacom18’s media businesses
- Reliance’s broader entertainment assets
The combination created one of India’s largest media and entertainment businesses, with a portfolio spanning television, streaming and sports.
Disney India Assets
+
Reliance / Viacom18 Assets
↓
JioStar
↓
TV + Sports + StreamingThe objective was to create a much larger platform capable of competing for advertising, subscribers and premium sports rights.
Revenue Jumped 46.5% In FY26
JioStar’s FY26 operating performance improved sharply.
Revenue from operations increased 46.5% to ₹30,819 crore, compared with ₹21,044 crore in FY25.
JioStar Revenue Growth
| Financial Year | Operating Revenue |
|---|---|
| FY25 | ₹21,044 crore |
| FY26 | ₹30,819 crore |
| Growth | 46.5% |
The increase reflects the scale of the combined business and stronger performance across its television, digital and sports operations.
Profitability Improved Dramatically
JioStar’s profit after tax rose to ₹3,145 crore in FY26, compared with only ₹18 crore a year earlier.
That represents a dramatic shift in the company’s bottom line.
FY25 PAT
₹18 crore
↓
FY26 PAT
₹3,145 crore
↓
Sharp TurnaroundThe improvement is important because the combined company inherited significant costs associated with premium sports rights.
Its ability to generate profit despite those obligations indicates that scale and cross-platform monetization are beginning to improve the economics of the business.
Sports Rights Remain The Biggest Financial Challenge
JioStar controls some of India’s most valuable sports properties, including major cricket rights.
These rights can attract enormous audiences but also require substantial payments to broadcasters and sports organizations.
The company had therefore recognized provisions for sports contracts where expected future revenues were projected to fall short of associated costs.
Sports Contract Provisions
| Period | Provision |
|---|---|
| FY25 | ₹25,760 crore |
| FY26 | ₹17,742 crore |
| Reduction | ₹8,018 crore |
JioStar utilized ₹8,018 crore of the provision during FY26 and did not create a fresh provision, according to its filings.
This is a meaningful improvement in the company’s financial position.
Why Sports Matter So Much To JioStar
Cricket is one of India’s most valuable media properties.
Premium tournaments such as the:
- Indian Premier League
- ICC tournaments
- BCCI events
- International cricket
generate enormous television and streaming audiences.
That audience can be monetized through:
- Advertising
- Subscriptions
- Sponsorships
- Digital partnerships
- Cross-platform promotions
The challenge is that sports rights can be extremely expensive.
High Sports Rights Cost
↓
Large Financial Commitment
↓
Huge Audience
↓
Advertising + Subscriptions
↓
Revenue Monetization
↓
ProfitabilityThe economics work only if JioStar can monetize its audience at sufficient scale.
JioHotstar Is Central To The Strategy
JioStar’s digital platform, JioHotstar, is a critical part of its strategy.
The platform combines the former JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar businesses and provides access to entertainment and premium sports content.
During the March 2026 quarter, JioHotstar averaged 500 million monthly active users, according to JioStar. The platform also recorded peak concurrency of 72.5 million viewers during the T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup final.
JioHotstar Scale
| Metric | Q4 FY26 |
|---|---|
| Monthly active users | 500 million |
| Peak concurrency | 72.5 million |
| Television viewers across network | 810+ million |
| TV entertainment viewership share | 34.2% |
The combination of a huge digital audience and an extensive television network gives JioStar significant advertising inventory.
Television Remains Important
Despite the rapid growth of streaming, television continues to be an important component of JioStar’s business.
During the March quarter, JioStar said its television network maintained a 34.2% share of entertainment viewership, reaching more than 810 million viewers nationwide.
This creates a major advantage for advertisers.
A brand can potentially use the same media ecosystem to reach audiences through:
Television
+
JioHotstar
+
Sports
+
Digital Content
↓
Integrated AdvertisingThat cross-platform capability was one of the strategic rationales behind the Reliance-Disney combination.
Digital Subscriptions Are Another Revenue Stream
JioStar has also been working to increase digital subscription revenue.
JioHotstar introduced new pricing plans designed to improve affordability and flexibility, while direct-to-consumer subscriptions reached an all-time high during the March quarter, according to the company.
The subscription business is particularly important because it gives JioStar a revenue stream that is less dependent on advertising cycles.
JioStar’s Key Revenue Engines
| Revenue Source | Role |
|---|---|
| Television advertising | Major monetization channel |
| Digital advertising | Fast-growing opportunity |
| Streaming subscriptions | Recurring revenue |
| Sports rights | Audience acquisition |
| Content | Engagement and retention |
| Syndication / partnerships | Additional monetization |
The challenge is finding the right balance between subscription prices, advertising inventory and content costs.
Disney Benefits From The Turnaround
Although Disney no longer controls JioStar, it still has a substantial 37% economic interest in the business.
That means stronger JioStar profitability should eventually improve Disney’s reported equity income from the venture.
Disney said the increase in equity income from investees was driven by the reduced loss from its India joint venture.
JioStar Profitability Improves
↓
Disney's Share Of Loss Declines
↓
Lower Drag On Disney Results
↓
Potential Future Equity IncomeFor Disney, this reduces the financial burden associated with its Indian media operations.
The Earlier India Losses Were Much Larger
Disney’s India business had previously generated significant losses and impairment charges.
For the nine months ended June 28, 2025, Disney reported $185 million in restructuring and impairment charges, primarily related to its Indian investments.
It also recorded:
- $143 million of goodwill impairment related to Star India
- $109 million of content impairments
These charges reflected the difficult financial conditions surrounding the Indian media business before and around the Reliance transaction.
The current improvement therefore represents a substantial shift from the earlier period.
Tata Play Remains A Weak Spot For Disney
Disney’s other major Indian media investment, Tata Play, continues to face financial pressure.
Tata Play reported a net loss of ₹551 crore in FY26, compared with ₹529 crore a year earlier.
Revenue declined 13.5% to ₹3,530 crore, from ₹4,082 crore.
Disney’s Major Indian Investments
| Business | FY26 / Latest Performance |
|---|---|
| JioStar | Strong turnaround |
| Tata Play | Loss widened |
| Disney’s JioStar stake | 37% |
| Disney’s Tata Play stake | 30% |
This makes JioStar’s improvement particularly important to Disney’s overall India investment story.
JioStar Has Scale Across Sports And Entertainment
The company operates more than 100 entertainment and sports channels, alongside JioHotstar.
That scale provides the ability to distribute content across television and digital platforms and potentially extract greater value from major content investments.
The business also benefits from Reliance’s broader digital ecosystem and Disney’s established content library and sports portfolio.
Advertising Is Still A Key Variable
Despite the strong FY26 financial turnaround, advertising conditions remain important.
Television advertising can be affected by:
- Economic growth
- Consumer spending
- Festival demand
- Election cycles
- Brand budgets
- Competition from digital platforms
Digital advertising is growing faster, but streaming platforms also face intense competition for user attention.
JioStar therefore needs to keep both television and digital businesses healthy.
The Challenge Of Content Costs
The improvement in sports provisions does not eliminate the fundamental issue of content economics.
Sports rights require large upfront commitments.
Entertainment content also requires continual spending on:
- Original programming
- Films
- Regional content
- Sports
- Technology
- Streaming infrastructure
The business must continually balance content investment against monetization.
JioStar’s Scale Could Improve Bargaining Power
One potential advantage of the combined business is greater scale.
With Disney’s content, Reliance’s distribution ecosystem, sports rights and JioHotstar under one organization, JioStar can potentially negotiate with advertisers and content partners from a stronger position.
Its large audience also provides more opportunities to distribute content across multiple platforms.
More Content
↓
More Users
↓
More Advertising Inventory
↓
More Revenue
↓
Better Content EconomicsThe key is ensuring that the cost of acquiring and producing that content does not grow faster than monetization.
The Bigger Picture
Disney’s Indian joint venture with Reliance is showing clear signs of financial improvement. Disney’s reported equity loss from JioStar narrowed to $44 million in the June quarter from $50 million a year earlier, while the nine-month loss fell to $136 million from $186 million. More importantly, JioStar itself delivered a dramatic FY26 turnaround, with operating revenue rising 46.5% to ₹30,819 crore and profit after tax increasing to ₹3,145 crore from just ₹18 crore.
The improvement comes as JioStar begins to extract greater value from its enormous television, streaming and sports portfolio. The company also reduced its provision for onerous sports contracts to ₹17,742 crore from ₹25,760 crore, while JioHotstar had 500 million monthly active users during the March quarter. The combination of advertising, subscriptions and premium sports content gives JioStar significant scale, although high sports-rights costs and competition in India’s media market remain major risks.
Looking Ahead
The key test for JioStar will be whether it can sustain the FY26 turnaround while managing the enormous costs associated with sports rights and premium entertainment. The reduction in provisions is encouraging, but the company still carries substantial obligations linked to sports contracts. Continued growth in JioHotstar subscriptions, digital advertising and television monetization will be important for maintaining profitability.
For Disney, a healthier JioStar is strategically valuable because the company owns 37% of the joint venture and records its share of the business through equity accounting. As JioStar’s losses narrow and profitability improves, the Indian venture should become less of a financial drag on Disney and potentially become a source of positive equity income. For Reliance, meanwhile, the results strengthen its position in India’s highly competitive streaming and entertainment market and demonstrate the potential financial benefits of combining its media assets with Disney’s content and sports portfolio
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