FILE PHOTO: Illustration shows Disney and Reliance logosNEW DELHI - The Indian antitrust body's opposition to a proposed $8.5 billion merger of the Indian media assets of Walt Disney and Reliance may force the companies to sell some lucrative cricket broadcast rights or commit to advertising price caps.
The companies can simply sell rights of certain cricket tournaments or for a particular medium, such as TV or streaming, to meet antitrust concerns, they said. Media agency GroupM estimates that companies spent nearly $2 billion in India in 2023 on sports industry related sponsorship, endorsement and media. Cricket accounted for 87% of that spending.
"They can argue they are foregoing some overall sports revenue to retain cricket rights-related revenue," she said. K.K. Sharma, a former head of mergers at the CCI, said the deal, if approved, would create "a big fish in the broadcasting market ... and a practical monopoly on cricket advertisement revenues".
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Analysis-To seal India merger, Disney-Reliance may need to dilute cricket dominanceThe Indian antitrust body's opposition to a proposed $8.5 billion merger of the Indian media assets of Walt Disney and Reliance may force the companies to...
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