India's Tata Group and Bharti Group are close to merging their satellite TV businesses, creating a nearly $1.6 billion entity with the aim of tiding over the sustained migration of subscribers to digital streaming,

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it is in talks with Tata Group for potential merger of their respective DTH operations. The two players have been in discussions for the merger of Bharti Telemedia and Tata Play for some time now.

Airtel will access Tata Play’s 19 million households, supporting its plan to combine telecom, broadband, and DTH offerings. In April 2024, Tata Sons raised its Tata Play stake to 70%, buying Temasek’s 10% share for Rs. 835 crore ($100 million), setting the company’s value at $1 billion—down from $3 billion pre-pandemic.

Airtel has also partnered with Ericsson 5G Core technology. "The collaboration will enable Airtel to seamlessly transition to a commercially live, full-scale 5G Standalone network over time, bringing the high-end capabilities of 5G to their customers,

India's satellite TV landscape is set for a major transformation as two leading players move towards a strategic consolidation. With the industry witnessing a steady shift towards digital streaming, traditional direct-to-home (DTH) operators are exploring new ways to stay competitive and sustain growth.

Tata Play and Airtel Digital TV are reportedly in advanced talks to merge their direct-to-home (DTH) businesses, according to an Economic Times report. The merger, which is expected to take place through a share swap,