DTT services will have to fight their ground in Russia’s already competitive digital TV landscape.
Speaking in a conference on the development of digital broadcasting in the country and quoted by AKTR and TelecomDaily, Alexander Schugol, the general director of Schugol Consulting, said that there are currently around 52 million households in Russia, of which some 97% (50.6 million) have a TV.
However, while cable services are received in 17 million households (33%) and DTH in 13 million (25%), only 1.9 million (4%) opt for DTT.
The key statistic is that 57% of Russians are already watching pay-TV services, which means that three out of five have no need for DTT.
Cable services will continue to be popular in cities, with their subscriber total set to increase to 25 million by 2020.
DTH services, on the other hand, will claim 17 million subscribers, while there will be 20 million homes watching DTT, with the greatest concentration being found in large blocks and in suburbs.
