The number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia stood at 46.6 million as of the end of the first quarter.
According to TMT Consulting, this was 0.1% more than three months earlier, with the penetration rate gradually approaching 83%. It adds that revenues from the provision of pay-TV services fell by 0.9% in the quarter to R27.1 billion (€381.6 million). Although such a reduction is traditional at the beginning of the year, it turned out to be less noticeable than in Q1 2021 (1.5%) and Q1 2020 (1.2%). This was due to most operators increasing their fees, which were previously kept at 2019 levels due to the pandemic.
TMT Consulting also says that ARPU fell by R2 in Q1 to R194. Furthermore, growth in the sector was almost down to Rostelecom and MTS, which are two of the top five providers of pay-TV services in the country.