Reliance, Disney’s $8.5 billion merger will get 100 questions from CCI, claims report

The Competitors Fee of India (CCI) has reportedly posed roughly 100 inquiries to Reliance Industries and Walt Disney concerning their $8.5 billion merger of media property in India, together with inquiries about sports activities rights.

Antitrust consultants had beforehand cautioned that the Reliance and Disney merger, unveiled in February, would possible endure stringent scrutiny. 

The deal is about to determine the most important leisure entity in India, boasting 120 TV channels and two streaming companies. The merged entity can even maintain priceless cricket broadcasting rights, masking India’s most beloved sport.

In a confidential submission to the CCI in Might, Reliance and Disney argued that their merger wouldn’t stifle competitors. They emphasised that the cricket broadcasting rights will expire in 2027 and 2028, opening the sphere for rival bids. In addition they identified that advertisers might attain cricket audiences by way of quite a few platforms, together with YouTube, Reuters claimed in a report.

The CCI has requested extra info by two units of questions, looking for to grasp why YouTube, with its largely free user-generated content material, must be seen in the identical market as subscription-based streaming companies like Netflix and Disney, two sources indicated.

In response, Reliance and Disney highlighted YouTube’s intensive attain and its licensed, paid content material, the report quoting sources stated. 

Information from Media Companions Asia final 12 months indicated that YouTube represented 88% of India’s on-line video market, whereas the remaining 12% was dominated by premium streaming companies providing curated long-form content material.

The merger can even give Reliance-Disney management over profitable digital and TV rights for main cricket tournaments and the Wimbledon tennis championship, elevating extra antitrust considerations. The intensive info requests might be attributed to the substantial dimension of the deal, the report added. BT couldn’t independently confirm the report. The Reliance-Disney merger will considerably alter India’s $28 billion leisure market, which additionally contains gamers like Zee Leisure and Sony. 

Jefferies estimates the merged entity will management 40% of the TV and streaming promoting market share.