JioAds vs Big Tech: A David vs Goliath battle in adtech

Earlier this month, the Reliance Group and Disney completed the merger of their Indian media businesses, with JioStar, the combined entity now the largest media company in the country. The $8.5-billion combined entity boasts revenues of Rs 24,000 crore and a content portfolio that spans 120 television channels and two of the country’s largest OTT streaming platforms, JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar.

JioStar’s digital IP alone includes movies and TV shows both local and international, homegrown originals from the two streaming platforms, and the world’s most popular sporting leagues, including the IPL, EPL, NBA, as well as ICC, and BCCI matches. This sprawling portfolio means JioStar will undoubtedly be a heavy-hitter in India’s digital advertising ecosystem. 

In India, the annual ad spend in 2024 is estimated to be over Rs 155,000 crore, according to global media investment company GroupM. Of this, over Rs 88,000 crore—nearly 57%—will go into digital advertising, GroupM said in its mid-year global forecast in June.

As things stand, however, JioStar is a long way from challenging YouTube India, which drives annual advertising revenues of $2.5 billion, never mind the digital ad duopoly consisting of YouTube’s parent entity Google and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta. Indeed, despite a combined userbase of ~330-340 million compared to YouTube India’s 600-650 million, JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar’s combined ad revenue is just around a quarter of YouTube’s.