Disney is currently in the middle of a major media deal in India. It’s looking to merge Disney Star with Reliance, which will combine Disney+ Hotstar with the JioCinema streaming service and bring together over 120 linear television channels.

This $8.5 billion deal is trying to get approved by government officials, and according to a recent report by Reuters, in order to get antitrust approval, they are looking to sell less than ten linear channels. Since in some local languages, the combined company would have the majority of the channels available.

Previously, during a planned merger between Zee and Sony, they agreed to sell three channels to get approval, though the eventual merger collapsed.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) privately asked Reliance and Disney around 100 questions related to the merger, which Disney and Reliance are hoping will help get them early approval.

There are some other issues with the cricket coverage, which is dominated by both Reliance and Disney, as between the two media companies, they have the majority of the sports rights. This is causing some concern from antitrust experts for consumers and advertisers. Combined, they would have a 40% share of the advertising market in TV and streaming.

K.K Sharma, a former head of mergers at CCI, has told Reuters previously:

“With Disney and Reliance together, hardly anything of cricket will be left … Here, it is not merely dominance but almost an absolute control over cricket.”

However, both companies have said there is nothing they can do about that situation, since they have the rights until 2027/28 and can’t actually be sold, nor are they willing to sub-license the cricket content out, since any other party involved would also have to get approval by the Indian cricket board, delaying everything.

“The companies are arguing that nothing can be done on cricket rights,”

Roger’s Take: Any time there is a merger between huge companies, there are always going to be some legal issues, and it’s likely Disney and Reliance knew they’d have to sell some assets to get approval. Disney had to sell a number of linear channels around the world when it merged with 20th Century Fox, plus with linear television on decline, it’s not likely going to be a big issue for them. Unfortunately, until the merger is complete, we won’t hear too many details on their plans for Disney+ Hotstar.

Do you think Disney Star and Reliance will merge? Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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