How Netflix–Warner Bros Merger Could Reshape India's OTT Market

When a single platform begins to exercise influence over both the creation and distribution of content, questions of law inevitably follow. Netflix's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery has therefore attracted attention not just because of business implications but because it represents a defining moment in determining how competition law will treat such acquisitions in digital and creative industries. The consolidation of extensive content libraries, production capacity, and international distribution channels under a single umbrella is a major threat to competition in digital streaming spaces.

Although this news has sparked debate over potential efficiencies and expanded consumer choice, it has also prompted regulatory scrutiny, particularly in the United States. Legal actions against the merger have highlighted the issues of consumer welfare, the impact that the merger may have on content exclusivity and content availability and the growing difficulty of using traditional antitrust tools in platform-driven markets where power is held through control over intellectual property and access instead of pricing only.

Such apprehensions are not limited to the US. For Countries like India, where OTT platforms are now prevalent and occupy an essential place in consumers' daily lives, global mergers of this nature carry significant domestic implications. As one of Netflix's fastest-growing markets, India is especially vulnerable to decisions taken at the global level, which directly shape content availability, competitive dynamics, and consumer choice within its rapidly expanding digital entertainment ecosystem.

India's OTT Landscape and Its Dependence on Global Content

The Indian audience shows a very vast and varied range of content engagement, effortlessly shifting from regional narratives and Bollywood releases to Korean dramas and Hollywood series. Over the years, Warner Bros. and HBO titles have developed a consistent number of devoted viewers within India, and their changing availability among different OTT platforms usually leads to the subscriber count of these services fluctuating significantly year to year. For example, the withdrawal of HBO from Disney + Hotstar resulted in an observable reaction from the Indian viewers, hereby emphasizing the importance of access to international content libraries in determining the competition and consumer behavior pattern in the Indian OTT market

If Netflix were to acquire exclusive rights to Warner Bros. and HBO titles in India, it would create a significant change to the way the OTT marketplace operates in this country. The availability of these titles through Netflix would not only allow Netflix to increase diversity of content available to customers but it would also drastically change the bargaining position of various OTT services in India. Competing platforms that rely heavily on the use of licensed international films, television programs, and videos (similar to HBO and Warner Bros.) would experience increased difficulty competing against an entity with a huge global catalogue of content.

Additionally, many small and niche platforms that are working hard to build their brand by producing a smaller number of quality, curated collections of international films will find it extremely difficult to compete with a service offering a single, unified catalogue of so many international films and programs. On the other hand, Netflix will be able to leverage its position as the only provider of HBO and Warner Bros. titles such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and major DC titles, not only to gain greater viewer loyalty, but also to exert control over pricing and negotiate better deals with content providers, which will lead to increased power and control over the public perception of which content qualifies as "premium".

Consolidation, Vertical Integration and Creative Markets

Many concerns surrounding this potential merger stem from vertical integration. When a platform not only distributes, but also produces, content through one of the world's largest and most successful studios, it shifts the balance of power in the creative economy. Vertical integration allows a platform to have influence over both what content is created, how it is promoted, and where it is released, thereby influencing creative decisions without exerting direct pressure. Generally, producers submit project proposals based upon the tastes and preferences of the dominant buyers in the market. Projects belonging to genres that can provide certain or predictable returns are likely to receive more funding than projects that fall within the experimental or regional realm. Independent studios and emerging creators will likely find that they continue to work within an environment of very tight budgets and limited access to distribution channels, which will only further limit their opportunities as they attempt to reach national or global audiences through the use of OTT platforms.

The impact of this situation is not purely theoretical. Similar phenomena have been seen in the U.S., U.K., and South Korea where large platforms and broadcasters created exclusive ecosystems that shaped the direction of national creative output. India's creative industry is very diverse and it is also deeply fragmented by both region and language. Consequently, regional producers must rely on OTT platforms to make their works seen throughout India and beyond

and engage with new audiences outside of their local markets. If Netflix eventually comes to dominate both the creative production and the distribution of Indian content on a much larger scale, Indian content creators may gradually be compelled to align their work with global formats and storytelling models. This might lead to further elimination of locally rooted stories that mirror regional cultures, sensibilities, and audience preferences from OTT platforms.

Content exclusivity is another factor that Indian content cannot ignore in an expanding OTT platform environment. OTT providers are currently aggressively competing for exclusivity rights so that subscriber loyalty is impacted by the addition of new titles being made available by them and therefore will most likely influence subscriber behaviors in the upcoming months. In the case of Netflix, if Warner Bros. and HBO titles are later added to their existing array of exclusives, that will likely drastically change the subscription patterns of many viewers in India and, while this may initially appear a positive to Netflix, may in the long run lead to greater subscriber fragmentation for all viewers. Historical data from other countries has shown that vertically integrated content providers typically create more expensive subscriptions, limit the potential for interoperability of each content provider's offerings with each other, and ultimately lead to a smaller selection of content available for viewers. As price sensitive consumers, Indian

consumers may find themselves in a no-win situation of either paying to subscribe to a number of OTT providers, or losing access to many of the shows that were readily available to them before these transitions took place.

The Regulatory Challenge for India

The developments in the digital markets have raised significant issues regarding the Competition Authorities in India. The Competition Commission in India (CCI) has changed its view of digital markets gradually over time due to the number of cases brought forward in Online Food Delivery, E-Commerce, Telecommunications. In these disputes, the Competition Commission in India (CCI) recognised that using traditional measurements like market share and measures like pricing are insufficient in evaluating an entity's market dominance within the digital market space. Power within this space is being derived today primarily from having access to exclusive content, user data, being able to reach users through algorithmic reach, the ability to influence how users interact with and engage with content on the platforms.

Even if a merger like Netflix–Warner Bros is a foreign one, it still has obvious implications for India because worldwide platforms behave in a similar way in different countries. In this regard, the CCI has the authority to assess a merger that has a “material impact” on the Indian market. However, interpreting what constitutes a “material I-impact for a merger related to digital entertainment is complex. How should India assess global mergers that have only an indirect effect on local competition? Would it be better if exclusive international content were considered a new form of market power? Should the rules on vertical integration be changed for the creative industries? Should the CCI start employing forward-looking assessment tools to foresee a foreign merger influence on user behaviour in India? These issues are not only of a technical nature. They decide how India protects competition in sectors where rapid changes occur and are often not visible.

Besides, there are some practical questions as well. Currently, under Indian competition law, the notification of foreign mergers is not compulsory unless the parties meet certain financial thresholds that are related to India. A global entertainment merger may not necessarily trigger these conditions even when its impact is significant in the region. India over the next few years might need to rethink its approach towards cross-border digital mergers particularly in cases where content availability and consumer welfare are concerned.

Implications for India's Cultural and Creative Future

Besides the issues of competition, India needs to consider the cultural aspects of streaming consolidation in the very long run. India has been actively working to turn itself into a major content hub. Regional storytelling has grown dramatically. Indian studios are now trying genres that were previously considered too risky. The rise of the animation, gaming and VFX industries has opened up new possibilities. A worldwide reallocation of streaming power can change all of this.

In case Netflix comes out of the merger attempt with more control over distribution pipelines, it may determine which Indian productions get global visibility and which ones stay limited to

domestic audiences. Market power can gradually turn into cultural power. A platform that has control over both content and distribution can significantly influence which stories become popular worldwide. India is still crafting its identity as part of the global content economy. Therefore, the Netflix–Warner Bros development turns into a valuable reminder that cultural influence depends very closely on the ones who have the control of the major screens.

What India Needs Going Forward

India's strategy for digital mergers and acquisitions requires a more adaptable approach. It involves changing the instruments employed to evaluate market power, facilitating more transparency in long-term licensing agreements, and recognizing how international partnerships affect the domestic competition. The Competition Amendment Act has introduced some changes, particularly by enabling the Competition Commission of India to evaluate transactions based on the potential impact they will have on competition thus, not depending solely on the traditional turnover thresholds. Nevertheless, these changes need to be supported by appropriate sector-specific directions for digital and creative markets, in which the concentration over content libraries, data, and algorithmic visibility is usually more significant than price. Without these tools and guidance for Indian regulators, there is a risk of responding only after market structures have already changed in irreparable ways.

Strengthening these tools does not mean preventing every large merger from happening, but ensuring India has the necessary regulatory capacity to protect competition and promote creative industries while simultaneously supporting diversity in content. Through continued media consolidation internationally, India's approach will ultimately decide whether or not to remain a part of the Digital Economy; will it remain competitive, or will it eventually fall behind due to the financial limitations imposed by companies outside of India?

The Netflix–Warner Bros deal might take a while to settle and, in fact, may never come together. Its importance for India is very much related to the point that it raises the issues faced in the streaming industry. The industry is evolving rapidly, and India is no longer simply sitting on the sidelines with regards to these transitions. It is better to understand the impact of global mergers at this moment so that India will be able to put in place a regulatory framework that is capable of responding to future disruptions effectively. The point is not to resist the change, but to make sure that both creators and viewers get the benefits of the digital revolution through a functional, efficient, effective regulatory framework.

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