CCI raises concerns over ZEE-Sony Merger

The merger will hurt the competition by having unparalleled bargaining power.

A recent notice by The Competition Commission of India's (CCI) states that a Zee-Sony merger will potentially hurt competition, as reported by The Reuters. To create a $10 billion TV enterprise will potentially hurt competition by having "unparalleled bargaining power".

In its 21-page notice, the CCI said its initial review shows the proposed deal would place the combined entity in a "strong position" with around 92 channels in India, also citing Sony's global revenue of $86 billion and assets of $211 billion.

The preliminary CCI competition assessment also showed that the merged entity would have a share of around 45% of the Hindi language segment, which draws the largest audience in the country, with Star a "distant second".