Russia’s leading DTH platform Tricolor TV gained over 400,000 subscribers in the second quarter, thanks largely to charging for services that were previously free.
Quoting Telecom Daily, Vedomosti reports that the company ended Q2 with 11.42 million paying customers, up from 11.01 million three months earlier.
The increase was down a change in tariffs that came into effect in January, when Tricolor TV placed public TV channels in a package name One that costs R1,200 (€19.2) a year to receive.
The growth in the subscriber base is down to new customers and subscription renewals of previously inactive accounts.
Significantly, charging for public TV channels is against the law and following a unscheduled inspection by Roskomnadzor Tricolor TV was ordered to make the available free of charge by the end of this year.