Disney-Reliance merger gets CCI nod

29 Aug 2024 , 12:26 PM

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) granted Walt Disney Co. and Reliance Industries regulatory approval on Wednesday for their $8.5 billion merger of their Indian media holdings.

The two organisations have taken a stride towards establishing the biggest entertainment corporation in India with this nod.

Summary of their holdings, which includes important sports rights, is as follows:

TELEVISION

Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and MTV are among the 40 television networks carried by Viacom18, which is primarily owned by Reliance.

Disney Star, a well-known brand in India, features over 80 channels and is well-known for both Hollywood films and Hindi family dramas.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India controls the television rights to all domestic and international cricket matches, which are shown on Viacom18. The popular Indian Premier League (IPL) will be available on Disney TV through 2027.

STREAMING

After outbidding Disney, Ambani’s JioCinema now has the streaming rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) till 2027, but Disney still holds the digital rights for International Cricket Council matches in India until that time.

Disney’s Hotstar and Reliance’s JioCinema would have a combined library of over 200,000 hours of programming, which would include movies, sports events, and dramas on television.

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