Russia’s leading TV ad sales house Video International (VI) had a flat first quarter, while its main competitor, grouping Gazprom-Media and Alacazar, saw growth of 18%.
According to Kommersant, VI accounted for 11 channels (including First Channel and those operated by RTR, CTC Media, Prof-Media and AF Media Holding), with two more (Ren TV and Channel Five) added during the month. The Gazprom Media/Alcazar grouping meanwhile represented only NTV, TNT and TV Center.
The zero growth recorded by VI was linked to lower viewing figures for several of its client channels in Q1, while Gazprom-Media’s NTV saw its audience share rise by 1.4 percentage points to 15.6% amongst viewers aged 18+.
TV advertising in Russia in the first two months of this year rose by 4% to R14.6 billion (€371.6 million), while in the same period last year it fell by 18% to R14 billion.
Amendments to the law “On Advertising” that came into effect last December will see VI’s share of the TV ad sales market reduced to 35% from next year.
