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This could potentially delay regulatory clearance for the deal that is set to create India’s largest entertainment player, but such notices don’t mean the deal would be automatically derailed, they said. If anything, such notices give the parties a chance to address the antitrust regulator’s concerns through adequate explanations, further commitments or actions, a regulatory official told ET. Queries sent to CCI, Reliance and Walt Disney remained unanswered till the time of going to press. RIL had in May sought CCI clearance for the merger of Viacom18 and Star India Pvt Ltd. The deal would not cause any appreciable adverse effect on competition, it had said in a notice filed with the watchdog. The combined entity, which had operating revenue of `25,000 crore in FY23, will inherit 115 TV channels and two streaming platforms, Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema.
RIL plans to merge Disney+ Hotstar with JioCinema once the merger deal gets the regulatory clearance. The CCI, an industry source said, is concerned that the merged entity could have power to influence attractive cricket broadcast rights.
This could stoke competition concerns, the source said. The proposed Star-Viacom18 entity—in which Reliance will have a majority stake will consolidate all the key cricket rights, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), International Cricket Council (ICC), Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa.
In the last few years, the two entities have made commitments of $10 billion towards cricket rights. “There are preliminary questions relating to competition concerns. So, many questions about the potential grip of the merged entity over the relevant market are usually asked,” said one of the people cited earlier.
RIL and Disney have offered to shut certain channels in Hindi and regional markets to allay the concerns of the CCI over the potential adverse impact of the Star-Viacom18 combine on media and entertainment business. Industry experts say this is not the first time a single media firm will be holding media rights to all the key cricket properties. In 2018, when the CCI approved Walt Disney’s acquisition of Star India, the company had rights to properties like IPL, ICC, BCCI, Pro Kabaddi League, and Indian Super League.
