Walt Disney and Reliance Industries have received approval from India’s Competition Commission of India (CCI) for an $8.5 billion merger of their Indian media business.
This merger, aimed at creating the country’s largest media and entertainment company, will compete with players like Sony, Netflix, and Amazon in India’s rapidly growing entertainment market.
The CCI’s approval comes after concerns were raised about the potential for the merged company to dominate cricket broadcast rights in India, which could impact advertisers. To address these concerns, Disney and Reliance have agreed to certain conditions, including a pledge not to unreasonably increase advertising rates for streamed cricket matches, Reuters news report said. The news statement from CCI did not reveal details. CCI says it will share more details.
Top streaming platforms in India
Disney+Hotstar is the market leader in the country’s streaming landscape with a roughly 26 percent share.
Disney+Hotstar has 38 million paid subscribers, Walt Disney Co’s latest annual report showed.
It has the digital rights for the International Cricket Council’s matches in India until 2027.
It has monthly, quarterly and annual subscription packages, starting from 299 rupees ($3.56) per month.
Amazon Prime Video is second to Hotstar with a 23 percent market share and is estimated to have about 20 million users in India.
Users can stream available movies and TV shows on its platform and can rent movies.
Access to content on the platform is available via prime membership, which is priced between 299 rupees a month to 1499 rupees a year.
Netflix has 10 million users in India and views the country as an important demography. Netflix is the third-largest platform with a 13 percent market share.
Netflix, which houses movies, documentaries, TV and animated shows, has four monthly pricing plans in the range of 149 rupees to 649 rupees.
ZEE5 has a market share of 11 percent. It offers three plans ranging between 299 rupees per month to 1199 rupees annually.
Sony Group in January pulled the plug on a $10 billion merger with Zee that had been in the works for two years.
JioCinema has a 7 percent market share.
Sony LIV has a market share of 4 percent. It has three plans ranging between 299 rupees per month to 1499 rupees per year.
The company will be majority-owned by Reliance Industries, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man. The merger, expected to reshape the landscape of Indian media, will combine 120 TV channels and two streaming services.
India’s streaming market is currently dominated by Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix, with Hotstar leading the pack with a 26 percent market share. The merger is likely to intensify competition among these platforms as they vie for a larger share of India’s $28 billion entertainment market.
