CCI Issues Green Light to Reliance Industries and Disney Star Merger

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merger of Reliance Industries-promoted Viacom18 and Walt Disney-owned Star India, which will significantly improve the Indian media landscape. The Walt Disney Company, Reliance Industries Limited, and Viacom18 Media Private Limited announced in February 2024 that they had signed legally binding definitive agreements to form a joint venture that would combine the Viacom18 and Star India businesses.

However, the approval of the competition watchdog was contingent upon both companies making voluntary adjustments to address potential concerns about competition. The largest media and entertainment company in the nation was established thanks to the agreement.

The Competition Commission of India approves the Viacom-Disney Star merger

With a court-approved scheme of arrangement, Viacom18 will merge into Star India Private Limited, making this $8.5 billion merger the largest deal in India’s media and entertainment industry. Disney and Reliance Industries’ combined enormous content libraries and distribution networks will result in the creation of a significant entertainment network as a result of the merger.

With two streaming services and 120 TV channels, the Reliance-Disney alliance will enable the combined company to take on Amazon, Netflix, and Sony. Additionally, JioCinema has obtained IPL streaming rights, while Disney-Star will retain exclusive digital and TV rights to ICC events from 2024 to 2027 and IPL broadcasting rights from 2023 to 2028. The antitrust regulator’s approval was required before the two media behemoths could merge or acquire one another in order to guarantee that no unfair monopoly would be formed or that market competition would be diminished.

Read More: Disney Announces Merger of Viacom18 Business with Star India

Asset Distribution

The distribution of their assets, which include important sports rights:

Television:

  • Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and MTV are among the 40 channels available on Viacom18, which Reliance primarily owns.
  • Disney Star, a well-known brand in India, features roughly 80 channels and is well-known for both Hollywood films and Hindi family dramas.
  • The Board of Control for Cricket in India has television rights to all domestic and international cricket matches, which are broadcast on Viacom18. The popular Indian Premier League (IPL) will be available on Disney TV through 2027.
  • The channels offered by both companies include sports, documentaries, kids’ programming, general entertainment, and lifestyle content. Additionally, they cover a number of regional language programs.

Streaming:

  • Ambani’s JioCinema has won the right to stream the Indian Premier League until 2027 after outbidding Disney, but Disney still holds the digital rights for all International Cricket Council matches in India until 2027.
  • Disney’s Hotstar and Reliance’s JioCinema would have a combined library of over 200,000 hours of content, which would include sports events, movies, and dramas on television.
  • A report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and EY states that Disney’s Hotstar was the second most downloaded video streaming app in India in 2022, behind MX Player.
  • Worldwide blockbusters, Marvel movies, and National Geographic documentaries are among the Disney streaming titles available. An analysis by media consulting firm Ormax states that in 2022, it streamed seven of the top 15 most-watched original shows in India.
  • Last year, JioCinema signed agreements to stream content from The Pokemon Company and to bring more Hollywood and foreign content to its platform through a partnership with Warner Bros.

Read More: “Cricket is the biggest pain point for the CCI” | CCI’s Finding States Reliance-Disney Merger will Harm Competition

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About Netra

Netra is a Dual Masters graduate in International Business and Marketing. She is a content-writing enthusiast and a social media addict. In her downtime, you will find her headbanging to Pop songs from around the world. She is also a sports fanatic and especially loves F1, Volleyball, and Cricket. Her hobbies are baking and watching Anime.

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