Russian OTT services see subscription revenue outpace advertising

Ivi.ru is the leading Russian OTT provider

Subscription and transactional income for Russia’s streaming services surpassed advertising revenues in the first half of this year, according to a report by Telecom Daily.

According to the research outfit, cited by Vedomosti, total income from streaming services in the first half grew by 70% to reach RUB5.3 billion (€77 million), split 53:47 between subscription and advertising.

Telecom Daily predicts that revenues will grow to RUB11 billion this year.

The leading Russian OTT service is Ivi, which has a market share of 20.7%, according to Telecom Daily, supported by revenues of RUB1.1 billion. According to the research outfit, Ivi’s revenue for the first half grew by 66% year-on-year, compared with 59% for rival service Okko.

YouTube is second-placed to Ivi in terms of overall share, with a 16.5% share and revenues estimated at RUB880 million, followed by Rostelecom’s online service with a share of 11.36% and revenues of RUB617 million.

Despite the importance of smart TV as a distribution channel in Russia, desktops and laptops remain the primary viewing device, accounting for 49% of all views, according to Telecom Daily. TVs account for 27%, while mobile devices account for 24%.