ROSKINO and Digital Media Rights have announced the exclusive launch of Russian TV series on Hulu and Hulu Plus in the US.
Roskino, along with the MTG-backed commercial broadcaster CTC Media, one of the partners in the agreement, will provide a range of their in-house TV shows to the two services.
Commenting on the launch, Vyacheslav Murugov, chief content officer of CTC Media and Head of CTC Channel, said, “Maximising the presence of CTC Media content in all media and on all platforms is a critical component of our strategy. We are excited to collaborate with ROSKINO to make our products available on the Hulu service. We deliver our content to US audience over CTC International, and we know that it is popular and in demand. I am confident that Russian content will be equally exciting for a wider audience in the US.”
Katya Mtsituridze, ROSKINO CEO, added, “It is the first time in history that so many Russian titles are available to millions of viewers in the US. It represents an outstanding opportunity for Russian filmmakers and producers of TV-content to enter the U.S. market. I am confident that diverse, high-quality content offered by CTC Media will be very popular on Hulu that already features some of our titles. It is most importantly a matter of our national prestige and worldwide promotion of our products, and given the right attention, this project may develop a very significant capitalisation.”
Michael Hong, Digital Media Rights CEO, said, “I had the pleasure to screen many new films during the Second DOORS International Film Market in St. Petersburg. These films as well as the dramas we have acquired from CTC/Roskino have a good opportunity to gain meaningful traction in the US. market. I think Americans will be surprised as I was to discover the level of world-class production values that when combined with Russia’s legendary tradition of story-telling makes for something special.”
ROSKINO and Gravitas Ventures announced the exclusive launch of 11 Russian films on Hulu in 2012. Within two weeks, one of those films, “Spy,” directed by A. Andrianov, was among the 20 most popular film titles on Hulu.
ROSKINO and Digital Media Rights are planning to expand the distribution of Russian content across the US. by offering a wider range of feature titles and television series, and by adding new platforms to this project.
