Airtel confirms talks with Tata Group for potential DTH business merger

Bharti Airtel Ltd on Wednesday said it is in discussions with Tata Group for a potential merger of their direct-to-home (DTH) businesses, confirming media reports about an impending deal between Airtel Digital TV and Tata Play.

In a regulatory filing, Airtel said that both companies are engaged in bilateral discussions to explore a possible combination of Tata Group’s DTH business, housed under Tata Play Ltd, with Bharti Telemedia Ltd, a subsidiary of Airtel.

However, the telecom major clarified that the talks are at a preliminary stage.

"The above is at a discussion stage only," Airtel said in its disclosure to stock exchanges.

The Economic Times had earlier reported that the Tata and Bharti groups were finalising a merger of their loss-making DTH businesses through a share-swap deal, with Airtel expected to hold more than 50% in the combined entity.

The proposed merger comes at a time when traditional DTH operators are witnessing a decline in subscribers as consumers increasingly shift to digital streaming platforms. The move is seen as a strategic step by Airtel to bolster its non-mobile revenues by integrating Tata Play’s 19 million subscriber base into its ‘triple play’ strategy, which bundles telecom, broadband, and DTH services.

Tata Play, formerly known as Tata Sky, is India’s largest DTH provider. It was initially launched as a joint venture between Tata Group and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, with The Walt Disney Co later acquiring Murdoch’s stake as part of its 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

If finalised, this will be the second major consolidation in the DTH sector in the last decade, following the Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger in 2016. The talks also come amid ongoing consolidation in India’s media and entertainment sector, with Reliance Industries and Walt Disney recently announcing a merger of Star India and Viacom18 to create JioStar, the country’s largest media entity with revenues of ₹26,000 crore in FY24.