Tricolor and IPTV boost Russian pay TV growth

The Russian pay TV market is expected to grow to 37.6 million households by 2016, up from 28.6 million households at the end of 2011, according to research by J’son & Partners Consulting.

The 2011 figure represented growth of 22.2% on the previous year, according to J’son & Partners, with most growth coming from IPTV and satellite. In 2011, cable accounted for 63% of pay TV subscribers, down 7% year-on-year, while satellite accounted for 32% and IPTV for 5%.

Tricolor TV was the growth leader, adding 2.1 million customers in 2011. Tricolor is also the market leader with 26% taking its low-cost offering, followed by Rostelecom with 21%, MTS with 11%, ER-Telecom with 6% and Akado with 4%.