India flags concerns with Disney-Reliance merger
India's antitrust body has reached an initial assessment that the $8.5 billion India merger of Reliance and Walt Disney media assets harms competition due to their power over cricket broadcast rights, four sources told Reuters on Tuesday. - REUTERS
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00:00The proposed merger between the media assets of Walt Disney and Indian-owned Reliance Industries
00:06may have just been thrown a monkey wrench.
00:10An initial assessment by India's antitrust body of the proposed $8.5 billion deal has
00:16concluded that it could harm competition due to both parties' power over cricket broadcast
00:22rights.
00:23That's according to four sources who spoke to Reuters on Tuesday.
00:28It is the biggest setback so far for the planned Disney-Reliance merger, which aims
00:33to create India's biggest entertainment player.
00:36The combined company, which would be majority-owned by Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, would
00:43compete with Sony, Zee Entertainment, Netflix and Amazon, offering a combined 120 TV channels
00:52and two streaming services.
00:54It would also have lucrative rights worth billions of dollars to broadcast cricket on
01:00TV and streaming platforms.
01:03That's prompted the Competition Commission of India, or CCI, to privately warn Disney
01:08and Reliance that their grip on India's favorite sport may be too tight, raising fears over
01:15pricing power and the combined company's potential sway over advertisers.
01:20Reliance has a fanatical following in India, the world's most populous country with an
01:25estimated 1.4 billion people.
01:28The CCI has asked both companies to explain within 30 days why it should not order an
01:33investigation.
01:34Reliance, Disney and the CCI did not respond to requests for comment.