A new pay-TV service operated by the National Cable Network (NCC) has launched in the Russian capital, Moscow.
AKTR and Vedomosti report that it employs the brand name Onlime and being distributed on the Mostelecom cable network, which has 2.5 million subscribers.
Onlime’s offer consists of 68 channels, among them seven from Viasat, including TV 1000, TV 1000 Russkoye Kino and TV 1000 Action. It costs R250 (€6.44) a month, with viewers also required to buy a receiver costing R1,440.
Observers are downbeat about the prospects for the service, which will face strong competition, principally from the cable operator Akado. However, it has the advantage that Mostelecom’s network covers 69% of Moscow households. Although still largely analogue, it is being modernised, enabling a growing number to receive Onlime.
Digital pay-TV penetration is still relatively low (20% at the end of last year), so there is also significant growth potential in the city.
The digital pay-TV market in Moscow had 760,000 subscribers and was worth R4 billion in 2009.