In a surprising turn of events, Bharti Airtel and the Tata Group have mutually decided to call off their discussions regarding a potential merger of their Direct-To-Home (DTH) television businesses. The announcement, made by Bharti Airtel in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Saturday, May 3, 2025, cited the inability of both parties to reach a “satisfactory resolution” after bilateral talks.
The potential merger, which was first disclosed on February 26, 2025, involved exploring a combination of Tata Group’s DTH arm, Tata Play Limited, with Bharti Airtel’s DTH subsidiary, Bharti Telemedia Limited. Had the deal materialized, it would have created a significant entity in the Indian DTH landscape, marking the second major consolidation in the sector following the Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger in 2016.
While the specifics of what prevented a “satisfactory resolution” remain undisclosed, the decision brings an end to weeks of speculation about the future of the two DTH players. The discussions were reportedly aimed at leveraging business convergence and boosting Airtel’s non-mobile revenue share through a share swap arrangement. Earlier reports suggested that Bharti Airtel was expected to hold a majority stake of over 50% in the merged entity.
Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest DTH operator with a market share of 26.35% as of December 2022, was seemingly looking to restructure its DTH business amidst increasing competition from Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms and a general shift in consumer preferences towards digital streaming. Tata Play, on the other hand, is the largest DTH service provider in India, holding a 32.65% market share as of March 2023.
The collapse of the merger talks means that both Bharti Airtel and the Tata Group will continue to operate their DTH businesses independently. For Airtel Digital TV, which is housed under Bharti Telemedia Ltd, the focus might shift towards strengthening its existing services and exploring other avenues for growth in the evolving entertainment market, potentially including its recently launched IPTV services.
Tata Play, which began as a joint venture with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp (now owned by Walt Disney), will likely continue its strategy as the market leader, focusing on its wide range of channels, value-added services like Tata Play Binge (offering a blend of DTH and OTT content), and potentially its own IPO plans, which have been discussed in the past.
Despite this particular deal falling through, the broader theme of consolidation in the Indian media and entertainment sector remains relevant. The recent merger between Reliance Industries and Walt Disney to form JioStar, India’s largest media and entertainment company, underscores this trend. The DTH sector, facing pressure from new-age digital platforms, may still witness further consolidation activities in the future as players seek synergies and scale to remain competitive.
For now, however, Bharti Airtel and Tata Play will chart their own courses in the dynamic Indian television market. The inability to find common ground signifies differing strategic priorities or valuation disagreements that ultimately prevented this potential mega-merger from taking off.
Key Highlights:
- Bharti Airtel and Tata Group have called off their merger talks concerning their respective DTH businesses, Bharti Telemedia Limited and Tata Play Limited.
- The decision was made mutually due to the inability of both parties to reach a “satisfactory resolution” after bilateral discussions that began in February 2025.
- Had the merger been successful, it would have been a significant consolidation in the Indian DTH market.
- The collapse of the talks means Airtel and Tata will continue to operate their DTH services independently in a competitive landscape facing pressure from OTT platforms.