Dish TV–Videocon d2h merger proposal clears main hurdle; Competition Commission gives nod
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given Dish TV and Videocon d2h its go-ahead to merge their assets, thereby paving the way for the creation of a TV distribution behemoth.
For the two companies, the CCI was the main hurdle to cross as the combined entity would become the largest DTH company in India with a market share of 45%. Dish TV Videocon, the name of the merged entity, would also become the second-largest DTH company in the world by subscribers, behind DirecTV. As of 31 December 2016, Dish TV’s net subscriber base stood at 15.3 million and Videocon d2h at 12.77 million. The combined subscriber strength of Dish TV and Videocon d2h thus exceeds 28 million.
“We have got approval from the CCI for the proposed merger with Videocon d2h,” Dish TV CMD Jawahar Goel told TelevisionPost.com.
Dish TV got the approval note from the CCI on Tuesday. The CCI had approved the proposed merger of the two DTH companies in its meeting on 4 May.
Dish TV will now have to get the nod from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), the National Company Law Tribunal and the stock exchanges before it can go ahead with the merger. However, these are more in nature of procedural issues, and it is just a matter of time before the merger between Videocon d2h and Dish TV gets completed.
Dish TV–Videocon d2h merger proposal clears main hurdle; Competition Commission gives nod | TelevisionPost.com