On October 4, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Sony Pictures Networks, but with conditions. As per initial reports, CCI has imposed limits to prevent Zee and Sony from abusing the dominating market position of the two companies.
#ETNOWExclusive | Zee-Sony merger approved by CCI but subject to conditions@CCI_India @ZEECorporate @sony_india@Meghnamittal23 #SonyZeeMerger pic.twitter.com/wE0tuEZAM0
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) October 4, 2022
Earlier, it was reported that Zee Entertainment Enterprises reportedly offered to shut down its Marathi Channels following the concerns raised by the CCI. Though the channels that Zee offered to close were not disclosed by the company, based on the market share these channels own, it was speculated that the Marathi channels might go off-air.
The offer was made to secure permission for a merger worth $10 billion with Sony Pictures Networks. They had also offered pricing concessions to help ease the concerns of India’s antitrust regulator.
On September 1, it was reported that Zee was in talks with the CCI to get approval for the merger. Based on BARC data, the merged entity has a 36 percent share in the Hindi GEC segment in viewership marker and a 33 percent share in Hindi movie channels segment.
