Reliance, Disney move applications for CCI clearance on merger

New Delhi: Days after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted the merger scheme between Reliance Industries’ Viacom18, its wholly owned subsidiary Digital18 and The Walt Disney Company’s Star India, both parties have moved applications for clearance from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

“The two media giants, in a confidential filing, have sought the nod for the merger from the Competition Commission of India (CCI). They argued before the watchdog that the combined might of the two players, especially in the cricket broadcasting space, would not “hit” advertisers,” reported Reuters.

Once completed, the merger is expected to form a Rs 70,000 crore media and entertainment behemoth owning over 120 TV channels and two streaming platforms besides all the major cricketing media rights.

On February 28, 2024, The Walt Disney Company sold its India business to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries at a $3.5 billion valuation, which it bought from Rupert Murdoch for $14 billion seven years ago.

The companies also informed the commission that there would be no impact on advertisers as cricket-watching consumers could be targeted on multiple other digital platforms, including YouTube and Meta, the report said.

Arguing that Indians consumed content across TV channels, social media and streaming apps, RIL and Disney said that advertisers would not be disadvantaged by the merger. 

The pirates argued that the licences of various cricket tournaments were won separately by each of them in a “bidding process” that was competitive and competitors would be free to acquire the rights of key cricketing events after the expiration of RIL and Disney’s rights tenure in 2027 and 2028.