Indian media landscape set for a shake-up, with or without M&As
Zee Entertainment Enterprises over stalemate on who would lead the $10-billion merged entity. It reportedly no longer wants Zee’s current CEO Punit Goenka to helm the merged entity. Whether the Zee-Sony deal goes through or not, it would directly impact rivals Reliance and Disney, whose merger, meanwhile, would ensure they have the biggest pie of the TV ad market at 40-45%.
“The merged entity will have approximately 100 TV channels, of which 70 will be Disney and the rest Viacom. The combined resources and content libraries of Disney and Reliance could impact traditional TV networks, especially if the deal leads to shifts in advertising revenue and viewer preferences. Smaller media companies may find it challenging to compete with the scale and resources of a merged Disney-Reliance entity.
They might need to explore strategic partnerships or focus on niche markets to maintain their positions," Ross pointed out. Harit Nagpal, chief executive and managing director, Tata Play, said consolidation of the big four broadcasters will make the businesses healthy while retaining competitiveness. “The process has taken longer than it should, and should now settle so that the broadcasters can start looking at the customer instead of each other.
It’s been a while since any new format or a large soap was launched. Recent times have seen blockbuster movies being released on TV with little fanfare. This can’t be good for the industry if it goes on any longer," Nagpal added.Milestone Alert!
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