FOCUS: Subscriptions, exclusive content may push 2021 e-cinema market up 35%

By Yekaterina Yezhova

MOSCOW, Dec 6 (PRIME) -- Russia’s 2021 online cinema market could top experts’ earlier expectations and grow by up to 35% as clients took liking to subscriptions while competing media services offer a soaring volume of exclusive content.

“The 2020 market amounted to 39 billion rubles and could expand by 33% to 35% in 2021, which is a very good result after the previous year of lockdowns and remote work, when the market soared by 52%,” news and research agency TelecomDaily General Director Denis Kuskov told PRIME.

The indicator exceeds the August outlook of 25–30% growth by TelecomDaily, which estimated total revenue of legal online video services in the country at 21.9 billion rubles in January–June, up 24% on the year.

“The main growth drivers include a wider audience, higher consumption, extended time of content watching. But the price is still a deterrent,” Kuskov said.

The advertising model, when content is shown after some commercials, shrinks from year to year, now accounting for less than 25%, he added. In January–June, this model had 18.5% of total revenue against 22.5% a year earlier.

Kuskov said the top three online cinemas as of the end of 2021 are ivi; KinoPoisk, belonging to Internet company Yandex; and Okko, now part of bank-turned-ecosystem Sber. U.S. subscription streaming service and production company Netflix and local Wink, developed by state-controlled telecom and digital company Rostelecom, are gathering momentum.

An Okko spokesperson said that its most popular model is subscription. The multimedia service now has access to an audience of over 4.5 million thanks to its affiliation with Sber and high-quality and exclusive projects.

“Okko’s library counts over 115,000 pieces of content of such global studios as Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures as well as of the leading European and Russian makers of films and series,” the spokesperson said.

The service’s exclusive projects hit a record number of views – mini series Chikatilo was watched 13 million times, Survivors 6 million times, and Prostokvashino 3.5 million times.

To win a larger audience, Okko also seems to channel sports content, which is watched by about 200,000 people weekly.

Okko said it exclusively broadcasts the top sports events, including football matches of the English Premier League and basketball competition FIBA Europe Cup. The service enjoyed the priority of showing mixed martial arts event Bellator 269: Fedor vs. Johnson, a heavyweight contest between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Johnson held in Moscow on October 23, which had more than 5.5 million views.

The rising popularity of online cinemas and streaming services also attracts pirates who have multiplied illegal and fake services, media reported in late November. According to Infosecurity a Softline Company, the number of domains with the word “KinoPoisk” doubled to about 60 in October–November from August–September.

Perpetrators imitate not only KinoPoisk, but also ivi, Okko, Megogo and others. Media also uncovered six Russian-speaking websites with pirated content, imitating Netflix, four of which were registered in late September–October. Fraudsters prey on payment and personal data.

(73.7426 rubles – U.S. $1)

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