Zee-Sony deal: 3 channels to be bought to allay anti-competition considerations

The proposed merger between Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) is inching to a closure, with the companies agreeing to promote three Hindi channels to mitigate regulatory considerations.

The media companies have voluntarily agreed to divest its Hindi common leisure channel Big Magic, and Hindi movie channels Zee Action and Zee Classic, based on the proposal filed with Competition Commission of India (CCI). All the three channels proposed to be bought off are owned by ZEEL.

ZEEL and Sony have a mixed viewership share of 36 per cent in Hindi common leisure section, based on Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) information.

The merger, which might create the nation’s largest media leisure agency, had acquired the anti-trust regulator’s approval on October 4 with sure situations equivalent to making certain no unfair dominance in any market. The corporations had voluntarily agreed to modifications proposed by CCI. According to the CCI order, quite a lot of necessities are to be fulfilled by the purchaser earlier than shopping for the three channels. These embrace acquiring related regulatory approvals for the acquisition and divestment of the three channels.

The order had additionally said that the merger mustn’t create any “prima facie competition” considerations. One of the situations of CCI was that the purchaser of the channels that may be divested shouldn’t be Star India or Viacom18, each rivals to Zee and Sony.

Another situation for CCI approval, which might create the nation’s largest media leisure agency, states that the acquirer ought to be impartial and with no reference to the resultant entity or its associates. Further, it shouldn’t be both a previous or current worker or director of the merged agency.

In its order, CCI mentioned that the businesses — ZEEL and SPNI — agreed to the modifications following its observations that the deal is probably going trigger an “appreciable adverse effect on competition”.

On August 3, the competitors watchdog had despatched notices to the 2 corporations, stating its preliminary evaluate of the proposed deal phrases the merged entity’s “humongous market position”. FE