PRESS: Russian online cinemas start losing archive content

MOSCOW, Aug 18 (PRIME) -- Old films and series have started disappearing from the libraries of Russian online cinemas, while the services said earlier that only new releases would be unavailable because of the sanctions, business daily Kommersant reported on Thursday.

The daily found out that Kinopoisk’s library has lost many old films and series, like sitcom Friends, science fiction film Interstellar, or fantasy adventure films The Lord of the Rings.

A Kinopoisk spokesperson explained it by difficulties with prolongation of the existing contracts with the studios.

Majors Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and other foreign producers earlier halted the sale of licenses for new releases for the country’s online cinemas because of Ukraine. The services said then that the old content would stay available.

News and research agency TelecomDaily General Director Denis Kuskov said that the impact of a temporary or permanent loss of any contract on results of the services will depend on which films and series will disappear.

The loss of content will not lead to a catastrophic outflow of users of video services, he said, adding that it will happen if libraries “start losing hundreds of titles within a short period of time.”

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