Media group Sony Pictures Networks India has been granted approval by the Competition Commission of India for its acquisition of the Ten Sports arm of pay-television operator Zee Entertainment Enterprises.
The TelevisionPost.com website said the CCI had defined the ‘broadcast of television channels in India’ as the relevant market in the case of the takeover. The regulator ruled that the deal will have no adverse impact on competition in the broadcasting sector.
Approval from the CCI is set to pave the way for Sony to become the dominant player in the Indian sports media market. Sony in August entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ten Sports in a deal valued at $385m (€367.7m).
The agreement, which was subject to regulatory approval, will add Ten Sports’ array of channels to SPN’s existing portfolio, cementing SPN and pay-television broadcaster Star India’s positions as the two dominant sports broadcasters in India.
The Ten Sports channels being acquired include Ten 1, Ten 1 HD, Ten 2, Ten 3, Ten Golf HD, Ten Cricket and Ten Sports. The platform operates in several markets including the Indian sub-continent, Maldives, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Caribbean.
Ten’s sports-rights properties include football’s Uefa Champions League and Europa League; cricket from the Pakistan Cricket Board, West Indies Cricket Board, Sri Lanka Cricket and Cricket South Africa; golf’s Ryder Cup, European Tour and Asian Tour; multi-sport events in the form of the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games; and tennis in the form of men’s ATP events and women’s WTA tournaments.
Ten Sports was acquired in 2010 by Zee when it bought the UAE-based Taj Television.