The two companies might close flanking or secondary Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) to retain both the flagship Hindi GECs-Star Plus and Colors- in the merged entity, the people said. Additionally, it plans to close channels in Kannada, Marathi, and Bangla language markets.
The merged entity of Star and Viacom18 will enjoy more than 40% share in Hindi, GEC, Kannada, Bangla, and Marathi markets. It will become a virtual monopoly in sports broadcasting, holding all the key cricket and non-cricket rights.
Any entity that has more than 40% market share in a category is considered dominant by the CCI.
RIL and Disney declined to comment.
People said the two companies are hoping that the CCI might not ask them to shut or divest their flagship Hindi GECs, Star Plus and Colors, or part with certain cricket properties in exchange for shutting flanking Hindi GECs.
“Except the flagship channels, other Hindi GECs might be closed down. In the regional markets, the channels that are struggling will be shut down. Star has much more powerful regional channels than Viacom18, which is strong only in the Kannada market,” one of the persons said.
Both RIL and Disney are hoping to close the merger by October. The two companies have until February 2026 to complete the entire process.
The CCI has reached out to other media and entertainment companies to gauge the impact of the merger on the industry.
One of the broadcasters is believed to have suggested to CCI that Star-Viacom18 should be asked to part with certain cricket properties since the proposed merged entity will become too powerful in sports with properties like IPL, ICC, BCCI, Premier League, Pro Kabaddi League, and Indian Super League.
“Asking Star-Viacom18 to part with cricket properties will not be feasible since these properties are eventually owned by sporting bodies like the BCCI and not the broadcasters,” said a legal expert, adding the broadcasters only have the right to broadcast live sports and commercially exploit them for a specific tenure.
As per the merger pact, RIL will have a controlling 56% stake in the Star-Viacom18 combined entity with Walt Disney holding 37%. The proposed merged entity will have over 110 TV channels and two streaming platforms, Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema.
Bodhi Tree Systems, a company promoted by James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, will own a 7% stake in the new entity.
Shankar will serve as the vice chairperson of the proposed merged entity’s board. Nita Ambani, wife of RIL promoter Mukesh Ambani, will be the chairperson.
The merger is subject to regulatory approvals, including those from National Company Law Tribunal and the CCI.
Star-Viacom18 will be a media goliath with a valuation of over ₹70,000 crore, with Viacom18 and Star being valued at roughly ₹33,000 crore and ₹26,000 crore respectively.
Additionally, RIL will infuse ₹11,500 crore in the merged entity.
