James Murdoch’s Bodhi Tree invests in Ambani-backed Viacom18

Reliance and Viacom18 in India has formed a strategic relationship with Bodhi Tree Systems, a platform of James Murdoch's Lupa Systems and former Disney president Uday Shankar, to create a massive TV and digital broadcasting company in the country.

The firms claimed in a statement that Bodhi Tree is raising $1.78 billion with a group of investors to invest in Viacom18 to "jointly construct India's preeminent entertainment site and pioneer the Indian media landscape's change to a'streaming-first' approach."


Viacom 18 is a joint venture between Mukesh Ambani's Network 18, a media conglomerate, and Viacom, a media conglomerate based in the United States. It owns and runs 38 channels in nine Indian languages, namely Colors TV and the Voot streaming portal.

The investment will be made by Reliance Projects and Property Management Services Limited, an entirely subsidiary of Anil Ambani's Reliance Industries, which has a footprint in television, streaming, distribution, content creation, and product manufacture. Viacom18 will take over Reliance's JioCinema streaming app. Viacom18 will continue to be a shareholder of Paramount Global, formerly known as ViacomCBS, and Paramount Global will continue to supply Viacom18 with material.



Murdoch and Shankar founded Bodhi Tree, an investment vehicle focused on media and consumer technology prospects in South and Southeast Asia, with a special focus on India, in February of this year. It will be backed financially by the Qatar Investment Authority, which will invest up to $1.5 billion in the project.

"James and Uday's track record is unsurpassed," Ambani remarked. They have had an indisputable impact on the media environment in India, Asia, and throughout the world for over two decades. We're thrilled to be working with Bodhi Tree to help India shift to a streaming-first media sector. Through this agreement, we are committed to provide the best media and entertainment services to Indian clients."