CCI sends over 100 queries to Reliance and Disney over the merger

The CCI has concerns over which entity owns which sports rights, for how long as well as information on who had bid for them previously.

India's antitrust body has asked Reliance Industries and Walt Disney around 100 questions linked to their $8.5 billion India media assets merger, including details on sports rights as it heightens its scrutiny of the deal, reported Reuters.

The deal which was announced in February will create India's biggest entertainment player with 120 TV channels and two streaming services including cricket.

The anti-trust body (CCI) had earlier also sought submissions about what this deal would mean to others in the competition.  The companies had then said that the merger would not hurt the competition, and argued that cricket rights will expire in 2027 and 2028 and allow bidding by rivals, and advertisers can target cricket-watching consumers on many rival platforms including YouTube.

The CCI has now sought more details via two detailed sets of questions, including why YouTube - which mostly has free, user-generated content - should be treated in the same market as subscription streaming services like Netflix and Disney. To which the companies have responded saying that YouTube too has its own licensed, paid content as well as a wide reach. The CCI has also asked the companies details on which entity owns which sports rights and for how long, as well as information on who had bid for them previously.

According to reports, the requests for so much information could be because of the large size of the deal. The Reliance-Disney deal is all set to reshape India's $28 billion entertainment market where players like Zee Entertainment and Sony also operate.

According to reports, Disney-Reliance will command 40% of the advertising market share in the TV and streaming segments if the deal closes.