Russia’s Gazprom Media has completed the acquisition of a 33.3% stake in Pledform, paving the way for the launch of what could become one of Russia’s leading online video platforms.
In a statement, Gazprom Media says that the two parties have created a joint venture named Ruform.
This will effectively see Rutube, which is owned by Gazprom Media, team up with Pledform to create a new online video platform.
It adds that Russia’s video internet advertising market was work R5.3 billion (€71.5 million) in 2015, with Rutube and Pledform accounting for 8% and 14% respectively.
With the market projected to grow by 15% this year, the new platform’s share could be around 26%.
Rube generated over 4.4 billion views in Russia and abroad in 2015, while Pledform had about 6 billion views.
Views are projected to grow by 3% on PCs and 20% on mobile devices this year.
