Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Company have reportedly sought antitrust clearance for their $8.5 billion India media assets merger, arguing that their combined entity, particularly in cricket broadcasting, will not negatively impact advertisers,
Reliance and Disney have informed the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that the cricket rights were acquired through a competitive bidding process, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The companies argue that other competitors will not be disadvantaged, as they will have the opportunity to bid for these rights when they expire in 2027 and 2028, said sources added to the newswire. The CCI will now review the confidential filing.
Disney and Reliance currently hold digital and TV cricket rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL), International Cricket Council events, and games organised by the Indian cricket board.
This concentration of rights has sparked concerns that the merged entity could exert significant leverage over advertisers and consumers. In March, K.K. Sharma, a former head of mergers at the CCI, noted that the regulator might be worried because “hardly anything of cricket will be left” outside Disney-Reliance’s control, giving them “absolute control over cricket”.
The deal is poised to reshape India’s $28 billion media and entertainment market, positioning the Reliance-Disney combination to compete with major players like Zee Entertainment, Sony, Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The merger will establish an entertainment behemoth that constitutes 120 TV channels and two streaming services (JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar).
