Bharti Airtel and Tata Group have ended discussions regarding the merger of their direct-to-home (DTH) businesses.
Airtel made this announcement in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), stating that both parties could not reach a satisfactory agreement.
The talks began in February 2025, when Airtel revealed it was in discussions with Tata Group about merging its loss-making DTH business.
Airtel had planned to merge Bharti Telemedia, which provides cable and satellite TV services, with Tata Play.
However, no detailed information was provided at that time. Had the merger gone through, it would have been the second major DTH merger after the Dish TV and Videocon d2h merger in 2016.
The proposed merger would have allowed Airtel to expand its reach by approximately 2 crore homes through Tata Play connections.
It also aimed to offer bundled packages that would include broadband, telecom, and DTH services under one subscription.
Tata Group’s DTH Journey
Tata Group entered the DTH market in 2004 with Tata Sky, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.
In March 2019, Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox’s stake in Tata Sky. In 2022, Tata Sky was rebranded as Tata Play.
