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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reportedly asked around 100 questions to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries and Walt Disney regarding their $8.5 billion (approx Rs 70,352 crore) India media assets merger, Reuters reported.

The Reliance and Disney deal, which was announced in February this year, will create India's biggest entertainment player with 120 TV channels and two streaming services. They will also together own lucrative rights for cricket.

Earlier in May this year, both companies claimed their merger would not hurt competition, arguing that cricket rights will expire in 2027 and 2028, allowing bidding by rivals, and that advertisers can target cricket-watching consumers on many rival platforms, including YouTube, the report said.

CCI sought more details on why YouTube should be treated in the same market as subscription streaming services like Disney. Responding to this, both companies argued that Google-owned YouTube also has its own licensed, paid content.

It's worth noting that the merger will also include digital and TV cricket rights worth billions of dollars for top cricket tournaments as well as the Wimbledon tennis championship.

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