Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves the amalgamation of Jio Cinema OTT with Viacom18 Media

Competition Commission of India (CCI), the fair-trade regulator has approved the proposed merger of Jio Cinema OTT with Viacom 18 Media, one of India’s fastest-growing entertainment networks. 

In a Twitter post on Monday, Commission tweeted about its approval for amalgamation of the Jio Cinema OTT platform with Viacom 18 Media, following an investment by BTS Investment and Reliance Projects & Property Management Services.

In April this year, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Viacom18 announced their strategic partnership with Bodhi Tree Systems. In this partnership, the Bodhi Tree will make an investment of Rs 13,500 crore in Viacom18 while Reliance Project & Property Management Services (RPPMSL) will invest Rs 1,645 crore to form the largest TV and digital streaming firms in the country. With the partnership, the Jio Cinema OTT app by Reliance will be transferred to Viacom18. 

Mergers like this require CCI approvals if it entails any acquisition of assets, shares, control, or even voting rights of the parties that have assets in excess of Rs 2,000 crore or a turnover in excess of Rs 6,000 crore.

The commission approved the merger since it does not raise concerns about competition or impact the competition negatively. This has been initiated to ensure the prevention of unfair trade practices in the business.