JioCinema’s Business Head Ferzad Palia Soon To Quit

SUMMARY

Palia will reportedly remain with the organisation during the transition period to ensure smooth handover

Ferzad Palia has long been associated with Viacom 18 Media serving the network for more than two decades

Reliance’s streaming platform JioCinema crossed the 1.6 Cr paid subscriber mark at the end of September 2024

Jio Cinema’s business head Ferzad Palia is reportedly stepping down from his position after a long stint at Viacom18.

Palia will remain with the organisation during the transition period to ensure smooth handover, ET reported, citing sources close to the development.

JioCinema declined to comment on the development.

He has long been associated with Viacom 18 Media serving the network for more than two decades.

Palia joined the company in 2004 and has played a crucial role in JioCinema’s growth.

This comes at a time when the recent industry chatter hints that the merger of media assets of Reliance Industries and Disney India is expected to be completed within this month.

Earlier, the Reliance group said in a regulatory filing that the merger will be finalised by the end of the third quarter of FY25.

It is anticipated that the combined entity will host more than 100 TV channels and two of the country’s most prominent OTT platforms – Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema.

The merger of Reliance group-controlled media assets – TV18 Broadcast and E18 – with Network18 Media & Investments had already been sanctioned by the NCLT.

The signing of binding agreements was announced earlier this year to create a joint venture, merging Viacom18 with Star India Private Limited.

Pertinent to note, JioCinema crossed the 1.6 Cr paid subscriber mark at the end of September 2024 on the back of affordable monthly plans.

In its quarterly update for the second quarter (Q2) of FY25, Network18 said that the over-the-top (OTT) platform reported a 2X quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth during the period under review.