Japanese conglomerate Sony’s India unit has finalised a deal with local rival Zee Entertainment to merge their television channels, film assets and streaming platforms, the companies said (https://bit.ly/3FoyPYc) on Wednesday.
The combined entity, nearly 51% owned by Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), will own popular channels such as Sony MAX and Zee TV, along with streaming platforms ZEE5 and SonyLIV, as part of the deal.
India, still heavy on direct-to-home TV entertainment, has in the past few years seen a surge of competition from streaming platforms including Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc’s Prime Video and Walt Disney Co’s Hotstar.
The companies also approved the appointment Zee’s top boss, Punit Goenka, as the CEO and managing director of the merged entity, after a 90-day due diligence period for the merger closed on Dec. 21.