Russia’s legal online video market was worth R10.27 billion (€137.2 million) in the first half of this year, or 48% more than in the corresponding period in 2017.
This, according to the findings of research undertaken by J’son & Partners Consulting, was due to the expansion of video libraries, reducing digital windows and constant technological improvements.
Intersegment cooperation has become particularly successful, as seen in the broadcast of TV channels on online platforms, the joint fight against piracy and the expansion of subscription services.
The study notes that revenues of online services that used the ad funded business model increased by 50.2%, and 44.6% in the case of those employing paid business models.
Also, ad budgets and subscriber growth was unevenly distributed throughout the year, making it impossible to assess the structure of the market based on the results of the first half.
Looking at specific market segments, revenues from online movie services in H1 were 55.5% higher in H1 than a year earlier, while TV channels, operators and digital distribution platforms had year-on-year revenue growth of 31.5%, 26.2% and 28.1% higher respectively.