Reliance Industries–owned streaming platform JioStar has moved the Supreme Court of India challenging an ongoing probe by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) into alleged abuse of dominance and discriminatory pricing practices in Kerala’s television distribution market.
The appeal arises from a 3 December 2025 order of the Kerala High Court, which refused to stay the CCI’s investigation and directed the regulator to complete the probe within eight weeks. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the matter on 27 January, before a bench led by Justice J.B. Pardiwala.
The case originates from a complaint filed by Asianet Digital Network, one of Kerala’s largest cable and television distributors. Asianet alleged that JioStar holds a dominant position in the state by virtue of its control over several popular Malayalam entertainment channels and exclusive broadcast rights to major sporting events, including the Indian Premier League and international cricket matches.
According to the complaint, JioStar allegedly misused this dominant position by extending preferential and discriminatory discounts to rival distributor Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL), while denying similar commercial terms to other distributors such as Asianet.
Asianet claimed that while the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) permits broadcasters to offer discounts of up to 35% under a non-discriminatory pricing framework, JioStar effectively provided KCCL discounts exceeding 50%. This was allegedly done through separate marketing or promotional agreements that Asianet described as “sham arrangements” designed to route money back to KCCL.
These arrangements, Asianet alleged, enabled KCCL to secure lower effective channel prices, offer cheaper subscription packages, attract more subscribers and local cable operators, and gain market share. Asianet, meanwhile, claimed it was forced to pay higher prices for the same content, placing it at a competitive disadvantage.
After reviewing the complaint, the CCI in February 2022 found a prima facie case and directed its director general to conduct a detailed investigation. The regulator clarified that the order did not amount to a finding of guilt and was only an initial step in the inquiry.
Jurisdictional dispute
JioStar challenged the CCI’s investigation before the Kerala High Court primarily on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that issues relating to pricing and contractual arrangements between broadcasters and distributors fall under the Trai Act and the 2017 Broadcasting Regulations. The company contended that such disputes should be addressed by Trai and the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), and accused Asianet of forum shopping by approaching the competition regulator.
The CCI countered that the Competition Act, 2002 continues to apply even in regulated sectors and that the presence of a sectoral regulator does not bar it from examining alleged abuse of market power.
In May 2025, a single judge of the Kerala High Court upheld the CCI’s decision to proceed with the investigation, ruling that competition law can operate alongside sector-specific regulation. The court noted that the CCI’s order was only preliminary and allowed JioStar to raise all objections during the inquiry.
A division bench of the Kerala High Court later dismissed JioStar’s appeal on 3 December 2025, agreeing with the earlier ruling and permitting the CCI probe to continue. This prompted JioStar to approach the Supreme Court.
About JioStar
JioStar was formed in November 2024 following the merger of Reliance Industries’ media business with The Walt Disney Company’s India operations in a deal valued at around $8.5 billion. The joint venture brought together Viacom18 and JioCinema with Star India and Disney+ Hotstar.
Reliance holds a controlling stake of about 63%, while Disney owns approximately 36.84%, giving Reliance management control of the company.
According to data from JustWatch for the April–June quarter of 2025, JioStar’s streaming platform JioHotstar led India’s subscription video-on-demand market with a share of about 25%, followed by Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Apple TV+, ZEE5 and Sony LIV.
Email queries sent to Reliance Industries seeking comment remained unanswered at the time of publication.
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