Russia’s Rostelecom and the National Media Group (NMG) have agreed to merge their streaming services more.tv and Wink into a joint venture.
The combined service will operate under the Wink brand and be 70% owned by Rostelecom and 30% by NMG. From the NMG side, more.tv and a 50% stake in the NMG Studio will be transferred, while Rostelecom will transfer Wink, including a single platform the operates in both OTT and IPTV environments.
The technological integration of the more.tv and Wink platforms will take place in stages. Until completed, subscribers will continue to use the Wink and more.tv video services under the current terms and conditions. The joint venture will also consider options for further use of the more.tv brand for business purposes.
Commenting on the merger, NMG’s general director Svetlana Balanova said: “The Russian media market is undergoing a major transformation in terms of content production, distribution and monetisation. New challenges also mean new opportunities. The combination of our capacities in alliance with Rostelecom, the leader in the interactive TV market in Russia, will significantly strengthen the position of the updated online cinema in the competitive Russian market and create an excellent product and service for users. The long-term expertise of NMG as a producer of successful media content for different viewing environments will allow us to effectively build a content strategy for a new player in the interests of consumers and the market”.
Rostelecom’s president Mikhail Oseevsky added: “In our joint venture, the participants combine their strengths and competencies. From Rostelecom’s side, this is the fastest growing video service in the country, which in a short time has taken second place in terms of the number of paying subscribers and is among the leaders in terms of customer experience (NPS). On the part of the NMG, there are wide competencies and experience in the production of unique film serial content represented by the NMG Studio, as well as the library and the subscriber base of more.tv. In this way, the joint venture will be able to accelerate the development of the combined assets, increase share in a rapidly growing market and offer the best exclusive content that takes into account the full range of requests and interests of our multi-million audience across the country”.
