Airtel Confirms Merger Talks With Tata Group For DTH Business; Check Details

Tata Sky launched its services in 2004 as a joint venture between Tata Sons and Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox. In March 2019, The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox's stake in the firm

The merged entity is expected to be led by Airtel's senior management, with Tata retaining two board seats in the non-binding agreement

Source : Social Media

Bharti Airtel has confirmed that it is in discussions with the Tata Group to explore a potential merger between Tata Play's direct-to-home (DTH) business and its subsidiary, Bharti Telemedia Ltd. In a filing to the stock exchange on Wednesday, Airtel stated, "The above is at a discussion stage only," following a report suggesting a merger between Tata Play and Airtel Digital TV.

According to The Economic Times, the merger could involve a swap deal, with Airtel owning over 50 per cent of the merged entity. This move would allow Airtel to diversify and grow its revenue from non-mobile sectors. The merger would also provide Airtel with access to Tata Play's 20 million homes, enabling the bundling of broadband, telecom, and DTH services into a single subscription offering.

One Of The Major Mergers

The deal, if it goes through, would mark the second significant merger in the DTH space, following the 2016 merger between Videocon d2h and Dish TV. The merged entity is expected to be led by Airtel's senior management, with Tata retaining two board seats in the non-binding agreement. The combined entity's operations are reportedly valued at around Rs 7,000 crore, and Disney is expected to retain its shares in the merged company.

Tata Sky launched its services in 2004 as a joint venture between Tata Sons and Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox. In March 2019, The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox's stake in the company. In 2022, the DTH provider was rebranded as Tata Play.

Play-TV Market

Meanwhile, the pay-TV market has been experiencing a gradual decline, with the subscriber base dropping from 120 million to 84 million homes in recent years. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the number of DTH users has fallen to 60 million in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from 70 million in FY21, highlighting a clear shift in consumer preferences and a shrinking market for traditional pay-TV services.