As media giant Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and telecommunications 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:conglomerate Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) head off in a potential bidding war for a large portion of 21st Century Fox Inc. (FOXA), the two are e☂yeing a large business in the booming Indian market, as reported by The Wall Str🌟eet Journal, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter. 

In December, Disney announced that it would buy some of Fox for $52.4 billion in an all-stock deal. In May, Comcast indicated that it is in the advanc꧅ed stages of preparing a rival, all-cash bid to acquire much of the global empire assembled by Rupert Murdoch over the dℱecades. 

While the companies are interested in gaining rights to well-known franchises such as "Avatar" and "X-Men," one of the most sought over assets in the blockbuster deal is Indian media conglomerate Star India, which is currently a fully owned subsidiary of Fox. 

Cord Cutting a Non-Issue in India

As Wall Street darling Netflix Inc. (NFLX) disrupts the media landscape with its subscription-based, direct-to-consumer (DTC) business model, the Los Gatos, California-based company has repeatedly beat Street forecasts with higher-than-expected user gains, both in the U.S. and internationally. Integrating Star India would help Comcast or Disney, neither of which have a large presence in the Indian subcontinent, hedge against the rising dominance of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:FAANG company and increase exposౠure to 🧔emerging markets, the people cited by the WSJ indicated. 

While the Indian market for traditional TV and home video is just 10% the of that in the U.S., the former is gaining momentum while the domestic U.S. market has been shrinking. In 2018, the market is expected to grow 8.2% in India, and decline 3🎐.3% in the U.S. As for the video streaming space, revenues are forecast to jump 35.5% in India in 2018 compared to a 12.7% in the U.S. over the same period. 

Star India lists 700 million monthly customers and offers 60 channels in nine different languages. The Indian media conglomerate owns the rights to stream high-profile sporting events such as cricket tournaments and has a significant stake in a production company that makes Bollywood films. Star India's DTC mobile-first streaming platform, Hotstar, is a driving force behind its value as it offers free and premium subscriptions for shows, movies and sports to 150 million active monthly users. According to MoffettNathanson, Star will generate $826 million in EBITDA by 2020, rep🌺resenting a 91% increase from fiscal year 2018. Fox had pegged that number at $1 billion. 

Also reflecting the importance of the Fox deal for Comcast and Disney's international businesses is the prospect of acquiring British pay-TV broadcaster Sky PLC. (See also: Can Disney Spend its Way to Content Dominance?)