Grip over cricket may lead to antitrust heat in Disney-Reliance India merger

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) - A proposed merger of Walt Disney's and Reliance's media assets in India could spark intense antitrust scrutiny over their market power, with lawyers flagging concerns that the combined entity's strong portfolio of cricket broadcast rights could impact advertisers.

The Disney-Reliance $8.5 billion merger would create India's No. 1 TV player with 120 channels, with local rival Zee closest with 50.

Analysts at India's Ambit Capital estimate the entity, to be majority owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance, will have a 35% share of India's TV viewership.

While the overall TV space will be closely assessed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), six antitrust lawyers said cricket rights are going to be in spotlight as the regulators examine market share and the power of the combined entity.

Cricket has a fanatical following in India, where many fans worship players as gods. Companies shell out billions of dollars to win broadcast rights or spend on advertisements to lure consumers to their services.

Disney holds TV broadcast rights for world's most-valuable cricket tournament, Indian Premier League (IPL), as well as both India TV and streaming rights for

International Cricket Council's matches. Reliance has streaming rights for IPL, Indian cricket board's rights for all matches.

K.K Sharma, a former head of mergers at CCI, said the combined DisneyReliance combo will raise eyebrows among regulators given the market power they will exert, especially in the cricket segment, requiring "deeper scrutiny."

"If I was the regulator, I would begin with suspicion," said Sharma, now a senior partner at Indian law firm Singhania & Co.

"With Disney and Reliance together, hardly anything of cricket will be left. The regulator gets concerned even when there is a possibility of dominance. Here, it is not merely dominance but almost an absolute control over cricket."

Disney declined comment while Reliance did not respond to Reuters queries. The CCI also did not respond.

Media agency GroupM estimates sports industry spending in India totalled $1.7 billion in 2022, up 49% from the previous year. Cricket accounted for 85% of the spending on sponsorship, endorsement and media.

The companies will approach the CCI for approvals in coming weeks. Disney and Reliance have said they hope to complete the transaction by end of this year or early 2025.