Sidharth Shakdher, Former Disney+ Hotstar Executive, Joins Ola
- ByStartupStory | January 30, 2024
Sidharth Shakdher, former Disney+ Hotstar Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), has transitioned to Ola Mobility as the new Global Chief Business Officer (CBO) within ANI Technologies. In this role, he will oversee functions like revenue, growth, marketing, and new initiatives for Ola’s mobility division, as well as manage the company’s new ventures, including ecommerce.
Shakdher, an alumnus of Pune University with 25 years of experience, has a diverse professional background, having worked with companies such as Samsung, Canon, HP, and Xerox. Before joining Ola, he was a key member of the founding leadership team at Disney+ Hotstar, where he spearheaded marketing, international growth, and the direct-to-consumer (D2C) business for seven years.
His move to Ola comes amidst challenges faced by Disney+ Hotstar, with a significant loss of subscribers due to intense competition from JioCinema. Factors contributing to this decline include the loss of digital media rights for IPL and the premium content library of HBO and NBCUniversal. Last year, the streaming platform witnessed a substantial drop of 20 million subscribers.
Reports suggest ongoing discussions of a potential merger between Reliance Industries and Walt Disney Co. for their media and entertainment operations in India. However, the recent cancellation of a $10 billion merger between Sony and Zee has added uncertainty to the situation. Consequently, Zee Entertainment Enterprises withdrew from a $1.4 billion TV sub-licensing deal with Disney Star for ICC tournaments.
The fallout from Zee’s decision raised concerns about a potential downgrade of Disney Star by Reliance, potentially resulting in a valuation hit of $2 billion.
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