Russian pay TV growth tailing off

The number of Russians subscribing to pay TV increased by approximately half a million, taking the total to 35.5 million in the quarter to June, according to research by local group Telecom Daily.

The growth was significantly down on the same period last year. According to Telecom Daily, pay TV subscribers grew at between 700,000 and 1.2 million for each of the four quarters of 2013. Annual growth in the year to June 2014 was also down on the comparable period, with about three million subscribers added in 2013-14 compared with about 4.5 million in 2013-14.

According to Telecom Daily, pay TV penetration in major cities now appears to be close to saturation.