VK: Zen (formerly Yandex.Zen)

2025

The emergence of a dark theme

A dark theme appeared in Zen. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on March 12, 2025.

With this function, reading articles, news and posts will become even more convenient - even at night.

According to Zen, 23% of mobile device owners prefer to use a dark theme. Now it has become available on all surfaces of the platform: from the Zen mobile application to the main page.

This mode reduces the burden on vision, especially with long reading. In addition, on devices with OLED screens, a dark theme helps reduce the energy consumption of smartphones. To activate a dark theme, just go to the profile settings and select the "Appearance" section - after that the design will be updated automatically. For unauthorized users, the button is located in the upper right corner - next to the entry point into the authorization.

Earlier, Zen introduced adaptive fonts in a mobile application - with this function, platform users can change the size of text for comfortable reading of news and articles.

The authors of "Zen" will earn on their content in OK

Zen authors with connected monetization will receive payments for the distribution of text content in Odnoklassniki. The monetary reward will be calculated using the Zen monetization model - during the time of the involved viewing. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on February 25, 2025

In 2024, Zen launched a test distribution of content in OK: articles from the channels are also displayed in the social network feed. The integration allowed authors to expand their audience and increase the reach of publications. Users can go by channel name to the author's Zen page in OK and see all the materials. Publications from Zen are marked on the social network with the platform logo.

From February 25, the authors of Zen with the help of this integration will be able to start making money on their materials not only in Zen, but also in OK. Payments will be charged according to the same logic as in Zen - during the time of the involved viewing: the more users spend time in the content, the more the authors will earn.

By default, Zen authors with connected monetization participate in distribution, whose content complies with the rules of both platforms - regardless of the release date of materials. Content distribution takes place automatically and takes into account user interactions with similar materials.

Earlier, Zen gave all authors the opportunity to earn money on their exclusive content. With Zen Premium, bloggers were able to create different levels of subscriptions and determine the cost of each: from 99 rubles to 100 thousand rubles.

2024

Audience growth up to 30 million users

In 2024, the daily audience of the Zen service grew to 30 million people, and the total time spent by users on the platform exceeded 5 billion hours. According to the service's own data, which were published in January 2025, users more often preferred text materials - 63% of the time was spent on articles and posts. Videos and videos got the remaining 37% of the time. In 2024, more than 1 million new authors registered on the platform, and the number of thematic channels exceeded 3 thousand.

Launch Audit Metrics Count

Zen and Mediascope launched a beta version of the classroom metrics tool. The media will see their total coverage on the platform - in the "News" and blogs. The tool is based on Mediascope's Cross Web project methodology, which is used by a research company to measure large Runet sites. The methodology represents the entire population of the country over 12 years old. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on December 24, 2024.

The first users of the beta version of this tool will be 30 media in the News. Later, the tool will become available to all media that are actively developing in Zen.

With this data, the media will be able to analyze the interaction of Zen users with news content. The tool will show how much the audience of blogs and "News" intersects. Thanks to this data, the media will be able to improve content strategies and increase coverage on the platform.

We are pleased to present this tool that will help the media assess its potential in the Zen ecosystem. Previously, the media saw numbers only on blogs, now they will get access to the statistics of "News." You no longer need to use external meters - all Zen analytics will be collected in your personal account and verified by Mediascope, "said Ivan Makarov, head of media at Zen.

Opportunity for authors to earn on their exclusive content

From December 16, 2024, all Zen authors with connected monetization can publish articles and videos under the paywall and make money on them, and users can watch materials first and without advertising. This became possible thanks to the launch of the tool - Zen Premium. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on December 16, 2024.

Zen expands the set of tools for earning authors. In addition to the main monetization from the platform, bloggers will be able to earn on their exclusive content. Previously, Zen Premium was available as part of beta testing only for some authors, now it will be able to connect all content creators who have access to Zen monetization.

With Zen Premium, bloggers will be able to create different levels of subscriptions and determine the cost of each: from 99 rubles to 100 thousand rubles. Thanks to premium subscription levels, authors will be able to control access to content and choose who comments on their materials. Later, an expanded analytics will appear in the Zen Studio - the authors' personal account on the platform -: a sales funnel, dynamics, as well as an audience analysis of paid subscribers.

There are various models of monetization of author's content on the market, and we see that platforms that give bloggers the maximum number of tools to earn money ultimately win. With the launch of Zen Premium, authors will be able to increase their income and manage it on their own. The results of closed testing of Zen Premium showed that 80% of users renewed their subscription to exclusive content. This suggests that Zen's audience is open to everything new and ready to support its favorite bloggers, "said Alexander Tolokolnikov, head of development at Zen.

During the closed testing of Zen Premium, the authors earned a total of more than 25 million rubles, and the number of paid subscriptions issued exceeded 20,000. The average earnings of the top 10 authors participating in the beta testing of Zen Premium amounted to 800 thousand rubles. The top channels with the largest number of paid subscribers included blogs about beauty and style, stories and current analytics about what is happening in the world.

Add adaptive fonts

Adaptive fonts have appeared in Zen's mobile application: now it will be more comfortable for visually impaired people to read long texts. According to the platform, 43% of mobile users change the font size on devices. With this function, reading articles, news and posts will become even more convenient. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on October 29, 2024.

To change the font size in the Zen mobile application, just go to the smartphone settings and set the appropriate one in the "Screen and brightness" section. After that, the font in the Zen application will be updated automatically.

Earlier, Zen updated his corporate identity: it has an updated logo and colors in the interface, the main one is the "infinite universe." Visual changes reduce excessive contrast and reduce eye strain - this makes reading articles from Zen's authors and immersing yourself in topics even more comfortable.

Subscription-Enabled Feature Channel Presentation

A product update has appeared in Zen. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on September 2, 2024.

In the federal campaign, the platform introduced an update with hundreds of subscription-enabled themed channels. Now users can find interesting topics, subscribe to them and be aware of all trends and news.

Topics in Zen are a showcase with articles, news, videos and videos from authors who are already united by interests in the user's feed. Now you don't need to look for relevant content yourself - Zen's algorithms will collect all the news and publications from the authors on the topic in one channel. To find interesting content, just select the "Find Topic" section on the desktop version of the platform or "Themes" in the mobile application, select the space you like and subscribe to it. New publications from authors will be available in a single channel in the "Subscriptions" section.

In support of product updates, Zen launched advertizing a large-scale campaign - in it the platform continues to rely on thematic content. Zen invites users to subscribe to topics and be aware of current news and publications from authors: from robotics and to neuronets new brands cosmetic and. eSports

In Zen, you can sign up and follow everything relevant: from the most popular travel destinations to new smart home gadgets. The platform already has more than 500 thematic channels in sports, food, economics, technology, beauty and style, gaming, auto, travel, science and many other niches. In the future, their number will increase.

{{quote 'author=said Sergey Tabolin, director to marketing of Zen. | In the advertising campaign, we continue to develop thematic content consumption in Zen. The most valuable thing that a modern user has is his time. Zen helps usefully run it, discover new niches, immerse yourself in their diversity and keep an eye on a rapidly changing world. The ability to subscribe to thematic channels allows users to receive interesting content quickly, and also to develop their knowledge in related areas, }}

Combining VK one-cloud video content "VK Video," "Zena" and "OK.Video"

VK has combined the video content of the VK Video, Zen and OK Video platforms into a single storage based on its own development - one-cloud. Its volume exceeded 1.5 exabytes, or more than 1.5 billion gigabytes - according to VK estimates, this is the largest video content library among Russian platforms. Read more here.

Reading articles with "Marusi"

Voice Assistant Marusya learned to read articles from Zen on popular and topical topics: from video games sport to food and travel. This was VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced on July 29, 2024. More. here

Testing the Subscription Content Monetization Tool

Content platform Zen is starting beta testing of a paid subscription to access exclusive materials. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on May 16, 2024. At the first stage, the tool will become available to a limited number of authors. The blogger will be able to publish articles, videos and videos for paywall - for the full version, the service will offer users to pay for monthly access. Also, the author will be able to indicate the cost of a monthly subscription to his exclusive content: from 99 rubles to 100 thousand rubles.

As part of the beta testing, a special section will appear in the Author's Studio - it will be possible to see not only the number of paid subscribers, but also the forecast for the expected income. In the near future, expanded analytics will appear in it: a sales funnel, dynamics, as well as an audience analysis of paid subscribers.

Users with a subscription will be able to regularly support their favorite authors, be the first to access closed publications, as well as watch content without advertising in a special section on blogger channels. The service with a paid subscription will be available on the desktop, it will soon appear in the mobile version.

Ability to promote author and business channels

On April 18, 2024, VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) opened the opportunity on Zen to promote not only articles, but also author and business channels on the content platform. The tool "Promo in Zen" based on VK Advertising technologies will help launch advertising campaigns and increase the number of subscribers.

This solution helps bloggers and businesses expand the channel's audience and increase the number of subscribers. Algorithms VK Advertisements take into account the impersonal interests of users and the content of the channel and show ads to those who are more likely to subscribe to it. Companies from educational the sphere will attract subscribers with an interest in training and self-development. Bloggers from the fashion industry will find like-minded people who read thematic articles or watch videos on the topic.

To launch the promotion, you will need an image, description and other elements of the announcement - you can download them in your office. The name and avatar of the channel will be pulled up in VK Advertising automatically. Users will see native ads with the "Subscribe" button in the desktop and mobile web versions of Zen: on the main, in the recommendations for articles and videos, as well as in certain sections of the content platform.

To launch the promotion, you need to log in to Zen Studio through VK Advertising: you can do this in the "Advertisers" section. Setting up targeting, budget and ads is available in VK Ads. Depending on the purpose of the promotion, you can choose to pay for clicks or impressions.

Adding a showcase with popular cartoons for children

Zen on January 29, 2024 presented a showcase with popular cartoons for children.

In the "Children" section, Zen users can watch cartoons of different genres: from educational to entertainment and music. In total, more than 40 multi-part projects of animation studios will be available, including Masha and the Bear, Blue Tractor, Mi-Mi-Bears and many others.

The section contains the most popular cartoons for children of different ages. Special thematic collections will help you choose content for the most frequent requests of parents: for example, "On the road," "For the smallest," "Developing" or "Musical."

All cartoon series can be viewed in playlists - they will turn on in order without switching in the player. And so that the content is always at hand, any cartoon can be saved in the Zen mobile application. For example, "Fixes" can be downloaded for viewing on a trip, and "Fairy Tale Machines" can be turned on for a child before bed in the background - like a podcast. To save the video you like, just click the "Download" button below the post. Saved videos can be found in the Downloaded tab. The Children section is available on the dzen.ru website and Zen's mobile app.

{{quote 'The most active audience in Zen is 25 to 45-year-olds, and many of them are parents. So that favorite content is available not only to adults, but also to their children, we have collected the most popular cartoons in one place, the "Children" section, "said Sergey Tabolin, Marketing Director in Zen. }}

2023

Start automatic subtitles for video

Zen launched automatic subtitles for the video. This was Yandex announced on October 4, 2023.

Speech recognition technologies in the updated Zen video player automatically generate subtitles in Russian.

Platform users will now be able to watch videos without sound thanks to the synchronous text function. The video player in Zen decodes the audio track at the moment the phrase is uttered. The technology will come in handy when there is no way to increase the volume: for example, in transport or in the office. This tool will make immersion in the world of content more comfortable for people with hearing impairment.

Automatic audio decryption is already available in the player interface by clicking on the "Subtitles" button. The appearance of the text can also be changed in the video settings: for this you need to go to the "Subtitle Options" menu.

Decryption technology works in desktop and mobile versions of Zen, as well as in platform applications for iOS and Android.

Opportunity to promote articles

Zen has the opportunity to promote articles - the tool is available to all authors through the VK Advertising office. The announcement is generated automatically from the elements of the article: the title, cover and the first 170 characters of the material. Ads are shown in desktop and mobile versions dzen.ru. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on September 26, 2023.

You can set up an ad campaign with pay-per-view or ad clicks based on promotion tasks. The first strategy is suitable if it is necessary to increase recognition, the second - to increase the transition to the article of potential customers. Not only to promote content on the platform, but also to increase the number of visitors to the business website is helped by the technology of seamless transition from the article in Zen - Scroll-to-site.

To launch the promotion of articles, you need to link the VK Ad cabinet ID in the Zen Studio. One channel in Zen can be associated with several advertising cabinets and vice versa - articles from several channels can be promoted from one cabinet. Ad campaign setup and statistics are available in VK Ads.

For September 2023, the tool "Promo in Zen" is available only for articles, in the future Zen plans to expand opportunities for promotion.

Ability to save horizontal videos

In the updated version of the Zen mobile application, it became possible to save horizontal videos and watch them at any convenient time - even without access to Wi-Fi or mobile Internet. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on September 1, 2023.

Now videos from the authors of Zen will always be at hand. For example, you can watch the episodes of exclusive shows of Glory to Marlow or Andrei Beburishvili during a trip, on the way to work or study. Saving is available in several resolutions: high, medium, and low. The latter will be relevant for users who want to save space on their device.

To save your favorite video, just click the "Download" button located under the publication. Saved videos can be found in the Downloaded tab. It will also open automatically if you go to the application without access to the Internet.

The ability to connect your phone to a TV or smart set-top box

Zen mobile app has an update - users can now connect their phone to a TV or smart set-top box and watch videos from Zen on the big screen. For June 2023, the function is available in the iOS application, and soon the platform will launch support for Android devices. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on June 16, 2023.

Streaming video from Zen is available in one touch via AirPlay: now users can watch exclusive shows, interviews with favorite authors, reviews of popular games and much more right on the TV screen. To do this, just click on the function icon in the upper corner of the screen and connect to your TV or set-top box via your home Wi-Fi network.

Zen also has the ability to watch a picture-in-picture video. Now you can respond to messages in instant messengers and go to other applications without breaking away from watching videos in Zen. And for those watching new releases of their favorite authors on the way, all videos can be listened to in the background even when the phone screen is locked - like a podcast or audiobook. Features are already available in the mobile app for iOS and Android users.

Yandex revealed income from the sale of Zen

As TAdviser found out, in 2022, Yandex LLC's income from the sale of a stake in a subsidiary of Zen.Platform amounted to about 38.6 billion rubles. This is stated in the explanations to the balance sheet and financial accounting of the company, published in the database of the Federal Tax Service.

Yandex LLC's share in the authorized capital of Zen.Platform at the time of its sale to VK was 99.95%. The deal was completed in September 2022.

According to the FTS database, the revenue of Zen.Platform LLC in 2022 increased by 578%, to 5.3 billion rubles, net profit amounted to 96.9 million rubles.

The main activities of the company are advertising, marketing, information and consulting services, as well as software development.

The number of Zen.Platform employees at the end of 2022 was 875 people. The company registered in Moscow has separate divisions in St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod.

In 2022, Zen began to be positioned in a new way.

Zen created a new positioning, chose a target audience - "zoomers" and "alpha" - and brought new authors popular among the younger generation, - said in the annual report of VK for 2022. - This also affected product solutions: seamless multi-format appeared. The platform has improved the recommendation system: algorithms began to take into account interactions with all formats immediately[1].

The monthly audience of the Zena tape in 2022 amounted to 70 million users, indicated there.

In support of the changes, Zen launched a federal advertising campaign, Find Your Zen. Over the month of downloading the mobile application increased by 60%. Knowledge and intention to use the platform among the target audience has grown, according to the VK annual report.

In November 2022, Zen also restarted the mobile application - it has improved recommendations, new onboarding and videos at the start, and in December, Zen users were able to log in via VK ID.

Ability to shoot vertical videos with tracks

On April 20, 2023, VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) introduced an update in the Zen mobile application - now the authors can shoot vertical videos with tracks. More than half a million tracks of musicians are already available on the platform, including SODA LUV, XOLIDAYBOY, Markul, Tosya Chaikina, Zivert, LYRIQ, Maxim Svoboda and many others.

The music library will open up more opportunities for Zen authors to create viral videos. Famous tracks will allow bloggers to diversify content and draw attention to their channel, and musicians to promote their work among Zen's audience. The update was made possible thanks to agreements with copyright holders integration and with the service. VK Music

To add a track to a video, just open the short movie editor in the application and click the "Music" icon in the upper right corner of the screen. A search bar is available here where you can find a song by title or artist.

In addition, themed playlists appeared in Zen. Tracks from the top charts of music streaming can be found in the selection "Trending." Hits of famous artists are collected in the "Popular" tab. The section "Heard Somewhere" presents songs that everyone can hear, and in "New Names" - tracks of novice artists.

The updated music library is available in the Zen app on iOS and Android.

Integration with VK "Pulse" service

VK closes the Pulse recommendation service and embeds it in Zen. The company announced this on March 13, 2023. Read more here.

2022

Ability to customize personal tape

Zen, a multi-format platform for viewing and creating content, has unveiled an updated mobile app. Now users can even more accurately customize the personal tape for themselves and select the rollers as a start tab. VK (formerly Mail.ru Group) announced this on December 1, 2022.

Zen's team has trained a neural network that can deeply analyze the contents of videos and texts, using 400 million publications as an example. As a result, an improved "cold" tape appeared. It is rebuilt dynamically and in real time - depending on the current interests of the user. Zen's algorithms take into account interactions with all formats at once - thus, if the user liked a specific article, the recommendation system will offer him not only texts on the same topic, but also video.

We have four formats: posts, articles, vertical videos and horizontal videos. More than 100 thousand active authors publish content every week, and Zen users create up to 10 billion events a day: from publication to like or comment. It is important for us that they see exactly the content that they are interested in right now. Recommendation algorithms select each publication for the user's personal feed from almost 5 million options. With the "cold" tape and updated recommendations, each user will find what content to go headlong, "said Andrei Zimovnov, ML director of Zen.

The Zen feed works according to the subscription principle - first the user sees the content of those channels to which he is subscribed, and then - recommendations. Zen's algorithm also explains to the user why he sees this or that content in recommendations based on his interactions: for example, because he liked similar material or watched publications by a particular author.

For users who are just discovering the Zen mobile application, the platform will offer to choose interesting topics. So, the algorithm will show exactly the content that is relevant to a specific user - just make a few clicks. Connoisseurs of cinema will be able to read articles about films and TV shows for hours, and lovers of useful videos will be able to learn life hacks.

Especially for young audiences who prefer video to text formats, Zen presented the ability to open videos first when launching a mobile application. As a result, the average time users aged 14-24 spend in Zen increased by 25%.

Closing the sale of Zen to VK

September 12, 2022 VK announced the closure of the acquisition transaction Yandex content from the Zena and platforms. News At the same delivery of ready-made food Delivery Club time, the company sold Yandex a 100% stake in the service and products, which it bought from "" in September 2022. O2O of the Holding More. here

Deals are closed after getting the necessary approvals from regulators. The results of the Zen and Novosti platforms will be consolidated in VK's statements from the third quarter of 2022.

VK obtained the rights to the technology and identity of Zen and News services and registers the transfer of rights to the Zen trademark. The services will save the interface familiar to users and will be available on the dzen.ru portal, where Yandex's search bar and weather will also be presented. Existing teams and service management will continue to work on them. Zen will also keep current monetization tools for content creators, will be available in the web version and in the mobile app.

Beta version of the Zen design

VK Holding has launched a beta version of the updated Zena design. This became known on September 7, 2022. It almost exactly copies the main page of Yandex, including the location of the elements. At the disposal of VK, the Zen service, the Yandex blogging platform, was transferred at the end of summer 2022.

At the time of publication of the material, almost all the main functions of the service were available to the user. For example, Zen allows you to search the Internet using the Yandex search engine, or read blogs. There is also a section with news that looks exactly like Yandex News, and the weather. The first to announce the launch of the updated version of Zen was the Prodzen Telegram channel.

As of September 7, 2022, not all functions present on the site work correctly. For example, browsers Chrome Vivaldi it was not possible to configure geolocation from under - the service automatically identified it incorrectly, and an attempt to enter the name of the city manually did not lead to anything - the "save" button remains inactive regardless of the name entered.

"Zen" by VK is located at dzen.ru. In the future, it will be possible to get to it through the current main page of Yandex - yandex.ru. To do this, specialists will configure automatic forwarding. At the time of publication of the material, she had not yet worked.

Also, users will be able to visit the old version of "Zen," which will be available at the same address - zen.yandex.ru. How long it will last and how exactly it will differ from the new one is unknown. There is also no data on whether posts published in the new "Zen" will be duplicated on it.

It is also unknown whether VK plans to completely change the design of its resources in the future. It is likely that in the foreseeable future there will be no changes so that users do not have to get used to the new^[2] interface^[3]

Signing of binding agreements on the purchase of VK services Yandex.Novosti and Yandex.Zen

VK and Yandex on August 23, 2022 informed TAdviser about the signing of binding documents on the transaction. According to its terms, VK will become the owner of the Zen and Novosti content platforms and will transfer to Yandex the Delivery Club ready-made food and food delivery service, which VK will consolidate during the restructuring of O2O Holding, a joint venture between VK and Sberbank. Read more here.

Sale to VK Holding

On April 28, 2022, the holding VK announced the purchase of a news Yandex aggregation service and Yandex.News a recommendation platform. Yandex.Zen More. here

Closing access to foreign users

Yandex.Zen will close access to the site for foreign users "due to the increased volume of content." This became known on March 9, 2022.

The decision was explained by the inability to qualitatively personalize blogs for foreign readers.

From March 9, the Yandex.Zen platform will be available only for users from Russia - when you try to enter from another country, the site will be blocked. Representatives of the company said that "in the context of an increased volume of content and a changing context, it is impossible to ensure a high quality of personalization" for foreign users^[4] to^[5]

Temporary transfer to subscription format

On March 4, 2022, Yandex announced that Yandex Zen was temporarily transferring the tape to the subscription format.

Users will see in the feed only those authors who have chosen themselves.

In recent days, the volume of content on the Yandex Zen platform has grown rapidly, and its context has also changed significantly. In this case, it is impossible to achieve high quality personalization. In the near future, users will decide for themselves what content they want to read and watch.

Users will see publications from the channels they subscribed to in the feed, and the platform will offer the new audience to select channels and customize the feed to suit their interests.

At the same time, Zen is transforming the monetization of authors and media towards subscriptions - now the platform will pay not for advertising in content, but for working with subscribers. To support bloggers who will face a drop in income, the company will invest its own funds to pay the authors^[6].

2021

Allocation of 4 billion rubles for payments to bloggers

On December 20, 2021, it became known that Yandex would pay 4 billion rubles to bloggers publishing content on the Yandex platform. Zen. " These payments, calculated for 2022, are twice as much as a year ago (1.1 billion rubles in 2020).

As Rinat Nizamov, head of content at the platform, told Vedomosti, the increase in the budget for supporting bloggers is due to the fact that from December 2021 the company will begin to pay them money for the interaction of subscribers with content, that is, for viewing and reading posts, as well as for attracting new subscribers to channels in Yandex.Zen.

Experts explained to the publication that Yandex thus lures bloggers from other online platforms, including Telegram, YouTube, TikTok and VK, who have high-quality content. The company needs more authors who generate traffic not only due to clickbait headers, but due to interesting content that will attract even more subscribers to Yandex.Zen.

In September 2021, according to Mediascope, the monthly audience of the Yandex service. Zen "amounted to 22.2 million Russians over 12 years old. According to Rinat Nizamov, popular content makers earn six-figure sums per month. As of mid-December 2021, the top 5 channels of the service include mainly culinary blogs - "Kitchen Inside Out" (1.2 million subscribers), "Culinary Mix" (595 thousand), "Georgy Kavkaz" (459 thousand), "Delicious Life" (420.5 thousand), as well as a channel about landscape design and home interior "Shebbi-Shik" (428 thousand).

Yandex considers Telegram to be its main competitor, and the main problem is the low quality of content. In November 2021, in this regard, a bot was launched that converts content from Telegram to Zena channels. During the month, more than 1,000 channels appeared on the Yandex platform in this way.^[7]

The platform sharply reduced traffic to news media and reoriented itself to bloggers

By November 2021, publishers were faced with a radical reduction in traffic from the Yandex.Zen platform. The largest media, such as RIA Novosti and Komsomolskaya Pravda, have fallen significantly. Publishers are unhappy with the new Zena policy, which has gained an audience, including thanks to their content, and has now reoriented itself to bloggers. Zen itself claims to be betting on short videos and advises news sites to do the same on their channels on the platform.

According to Liveinternet, the number of visits to media sites from the Yandex.Zen platform in November 2021 was halved compared to November 2020, to 4.5 million users per day. The number of views of content in media channels on Zen fell 2.5 times, to less than 10 million per day. In some media, the fall is stronger: for example, traffic to the sites of Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP) and RIA Novosti fell from 1.8 million to 600 thousand.

Back in April, Zen stopped exchanging traffic with media, a representative of Yandex^[8] explained to^[9].

The second reason, he said, is the active growth in Zen of video formats that drag the audience's attention: "Our focus is the development of a blog platform." But Zen is interested in high-quality content from the media and invites them to master new formats, for example, short videos, Yandex assured.

Zen's position on the media "does not give serious hopes for recovery," says Denis Arlantsev, technical director of Moskovsky Komsomolets. MK in November compared to February 2021 has a twofold drop in traffic. The situation is "very painful," said Olesya Nosova, deputy general director of KP: "In a number of regions, the share of traffic from Zen reached 50%. It's impossible to replace it.' The traffic of the Dozhd website (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) from Yandex.Zen fell sharply in August and did not recover, said its editor-in-chief Vladimir Motorin: "If we compare with the average number of transitions from Zen in the first seven months of the year, then by October the site lost 75% of traffic."

The number of visits from Zen to RBC has dropped fourfold since January, to 6 million, the media holding said: "Zen is becoming so insignificant for us that labor costs for minimal maintenance of RBC channels do not pay off, and to receive traffic you have to compete with fakes and" yellow "materials." RBC is considering leaving the platform in early 2022 due to "non-partner behavior" and "yellowing." According to Zen statistics, the most popular material in the last 30 days on November 17 was: "The husband said that he was delayed at work, but I unexpectedly encountered him when I arrived at the call to the pregnant woman." Among the readers are "Remove poverty from your home!.. Advice clairvoyant" and "5 indecent facts about Andrei Makarevich."

"Mel" compared to colleagues is not in the worst situation, says its editor-in-chief Nadezhda Papudoglo: "But we have a lot of content that Zen classifies as" evergreen "(the platform stated that it has a greater priority. - 'Kommersant')." The main problem, she said, is "opaque conditions of interaction."

Against the background of falling traffic from Zen, publishers are developing promotion in search engines.

"Now a more stable source of clique is search, and in social networks and Zen the content is read mainly inside," Nadezhda Papudoglo notes. KP focused on other sources of traffic, for example, search, confirms Olesya Nosova. RBC plans to develop its digital products, "experimenting with external distribution sites that provide predictable results."

Zen began as an experiment: the idea was that the neural network should recommend content, says N + 1 publisher Andrei Konyaev. But "all the content on" Zen "was about boobs," and the platform attracted publishers to improve quality, he notes: "Now Zen media is no longer needed, it has bloggers." He compares Yandex's recommendation to develop short videos with Marie Antoinette's advice to eat cakes when there is no bread: "Video play is expensive and the exhaust is incomprehensible . Facebook advised this about 10 years ago, and then it turned out that he overestimated video views. "

Launch the Post Writer Support Program

On September 29, 2021, Yandex announced that bloggers who publish posts in Zen can now take part in the author support program. Thanks to the program, they will be able to monetize their popular posts.

According to representatives of the Yandex.Zen project, within the framework of the support program, bloggers will be able to earn up to 6 thousand rubles per post and up to 200 thousand rubles per month. Those bloggers who publish at least 20 original posts in Zen per month will be able to receive remuneration.

Program participants will receive money for viewing posts. To participate in the program, the blogger needs to apply for participation.

During the summer, posts were tested by several selected channels, and in August the format became available to all Zena bloggers. For September 2021, Zen recommends posts only to channel subscribers. But the posts of the support program participants will be shown to the entire audience of the platform.

According to Yandex estimates, the format is rapidly gaining popularity in Zen: more than 14 thousand bloggers have already tested it. 3 million people read posts every day, and the total number of views that the format gains in the feed daily exceeded 10 million.

In the proposed format, it is convenient to create situational content - for example, to tell or respond to the news. Therefore, bloggers and media, who regularly share comments on current events, with the help of posts will be able to more often attract attention to their channels.

Launching posts

On August 31, 2021, Yandex.Zen launched posts.

Bloggers and media in Yandex.Zen can now publish posts - a flexible format with which you can share news, analytics and reviews. At the testing stage, posts will be seen by channel subscribers, and in the coming weeks, posts will begin to be recommended in the Zen feed for people with relevant interests.

In the format of posts, you can publish texts up to 1500 characters, add links and images. To read the post in full, the user just needs to click "Expand" in the feed - there is no need to go to the blogger's channel. Posts will be shown in the Zen feed during the day and saved in the blogger's channel.

In the next few weeks, posts will be shown only to channel subscribers: this way bloggers will be able to work on the development of their communities, and Zen users will more often receive content in the feed from bloggers and media on which they are subscribed. Later, posts will begin to be recommended in the feed - for example, posts about technology will be shown to people who are interested in this topic.

In this format, it is convenient to create situational content - for example, to tell or respond to the news. Therefore, bloggers and media, who regularly share comments on current events, with the help of posts will be able to more often attract attention to their channels.

Posts can be seen on all Zen mobile sites: in Yandex and Zen applications, in the mobile web version of the main Yandex and in the Yandex mobile browser. In the fall of 2021, posts can be read on the desktop.

Add a section with a selection of exciting and relevant content for Android

A section appeared in Zen with a selection of exciting and relevant materials. This was Yandex announced on June 20, 2021. It can be seen application in Yandex for. " Android Interesting" will help people discover bloggers and find more diverse ones in Zen. For content example, in the section you can read longrides about film festivals, watch short videos from beauty bloggers and video interviews with experts.

"Interesting" consists of cards with current content, articles and videos combined by a common topic, and collections of bloggers. For July 2021, in "Interesting" you can read articles and watch inspiring videos about travel, food and unusual hobbies. To create selections, Zen's team will involve experts, partners and celebrities.

{{quote "We want to make it interesting for a person in Zen every day," says Alexander Sobol, director of the Yandex.Zen. - If the recommendation feed is a personal space that the user sets up for himself, then "Interesting" is an opportunity for him to add unusual content and bloggers to his feed that he did not know about before. }}

You can get into the section both from the main screen of the Yandex application for Android and from the Zen recommendation feed by going to "Interesting" according to the taboo of the same name. In the coming weeks, the section will be available in the Yandex application for iOS, and by the end of 2021 - on other mobile and desktop sites of Zen.

2020

Testing the fake verification program

On September 2, 2020, it became known that the Yandex.Zen platform is testing a program to verify inaccurate information posted on the service. For this, Zen will attract partners - the editors of TASS news agencies, Interfax and The Bell. The latter will even hire additional employees to cooperate. The Higher School of Economics will also become a partner.

Yandex noted that Zen is already able to recognize clickbait, offensive publications, the so-called shock content, and now they are ready to start the next stage - unreliable news.

Every month, Zen will transmit thousands of publications to partners - primarily materials that quickly gain views and contain "potentially harmful to society" and, possibly, inaccurate information - "first of all, these are publications on hot political topics." At the same time, the author's personal opinion, personal experience, fiction and satire will not be assessed. The service and partners will have 4-8 hours to make a decision to study the controversial information and delete it.

In the future, in addition to these media, the platform is going to attract other publications to work. For each material that has passed the test, the partners will receive money. The amount of payments to the parties is not disclosed. Interfax called it insignificant within the entire business of the news agency, but the editorial office is initially interested in such a potentially important project for the media, as well as Yandex as a partner.

Removal will occur only if all partners consider the publication to be fake. Partners will not evaluate the author's personal opinion and experience, fiction and satire. They will need to act promptly: the Zen team and editorial offices will have four to eight hours to study the controversial material and remove it if necessary.

Articles on Zen have repeatedly caused complaints in terms of the lack of factchecking. Once the platform even demanded an apology from the daughter of the press secretary of the Russian president Elizaveta Peskova - a number of fake posts came out about her^[10].

AppGallery Availability

On April 8, 2020, it became known about the full integration company mobile applications Yandex in the app store. AppGallery More. here

Viber integration for users in Russia and Belarus

On March 10, 2020 Yandex , he announced that the Yandex.Zen feed will appear for all users messenger Viber in the Russia "Interesting" tab and in - Belarus as the main button on the main screen. Users Viber will also be able to share posts from Zen in chats and groups. More. here

2019

Introduction to the Coc Coc browser in Vietnam

On April 3, 2019, it became known that Yandex"" signed a contract to introduce its Yandex.Zen service into mobile and web companies browser the Vietnamese. Coc Coc The agreement was concluded in February 2019 for a period of several years with the possibility of extension; the Vietnamese company will pay Yandex a share of sales, the advertizing parties said. Dmitry Ivanov hopes to recoup the costs of Yandex.Zen entering the Vietnamese market within a year.

Lavrenko Victor said that he is not involved in the operational management of Coc Coc and is on the board of directors of the company. According to him, the directors of Coc Coc were presented with the results of the implementation of the service, according to which the number of views of the Coc Coc advertising inventory fell. According to a company representative, Yandex.Zen was initially tested in an old browser design, because the results were "less effective." The introduction of Yandex.Zen leads to an increase in the time that Coc Coc users spend on its services by an average of 10%, insists a representative of Coc Coc.

The audience of Yandex.Zen, as of March 2019, is 40 million users. The service is available in more than a hundred countries.

In the future, a number of similar transactions are planned to integrate the service into the products of foreign partners, negotiations are underway on several of them, Dmitry Ivanov added. Abroad, Yandex plans to scale the Zena recommendation service, in the future, in countries where there will be a significant audience, the company will consider the possibility of creating a platform for authors and developing social functions.

The technologies underlying Russian recommendation systems may well be competitive on the international market, says Anna Artamonova, vice president of the Mail.ru Group. Entering the markets of other countries is not only technology, but also the large marketing costs of building a brand from scratch and the lack of "free" classroom support. Therefore, it is quite difficult to assess the likelihood of success.

On average, Yandex pays partners about 60% of revenue for traffic, but in markets unknown to Yandex, this share may be higher, so partners are likely to receive the bulk of the revenue, suggests Raiffeisen Bank analyst Sergei Libin. It is not yet worth talking about a significant increase in Yandex's revenue due to two partnerships, at this stage it is important to recruit a base, he points out.

Any such contract is always a risk on both sides, warns N + 1 publisher Andrey Konyaev. "Zen is most likely taking on development obligations - this is money. And browsers - for implementation and placement. The result may turn out to be zero. "

An estimate of 60% of the share of revenue, which, according to analyst Sergei Libin, Yandex gives to partners for traffic, and the commercial partnership model is incorrect, the Yandex press service said. So, for example, under an agreement with CocCoc, it is the Vietnamese company that shares its revenue with Yandex.Zen, and not vice versa.[11]

Introduction to the Opera browser in Turkey

On April 3, 2019, it became known that. "Yandex Zen" from March 29, 2019 was introduced browser Opera in in. This Turkey was announced by Dmitry Ivanov. Coc Coc Unlike Opera, it does not have its own sales platform, advertizing so the revenue that partners will share will be generated from different advertising systems, he said. The deal is based on a revenue sharing agreement, while Yandex pays Opera to distribute the service, the Opera press service said^[12]

2018: Separate Business Line

In July 2018, the board of directors of Yandex recognized the experiment with the Yandex.Zen recommendation service as successful and decided to separate it into a separate business area. Its general director was Dmitry Ivanov, who had previously headed the Yandex Discovery direction (Zen and another experimental product of the search engine, Yandex.Launcher, have still developed within it).

Dmitry Ivanov in an interview with The Bell:

We swung at something very large, we are building a kind of "TV of the future." It is based on artificial intelligence technologies, which will very soon fully determine media consumption. Even the flow of television broadcasting in a home TV in 10-20 years will work on the same algorithms that we are now developing in Zen. It will be a mix of the formats that we already see in social media - video, TV broadcasting, text, pictures. There will be a personalized newsfeed that will accompany us everywhere on different devices - primarily smartphones.

If we talk about business meaning for Yandex, then Zen is an opportunity to increase the mobile audience and enter the social media market. The market that has traditionally been a stranger to Yandex. This is the territory Vkontakte of ",," and Instagram Facebook others. And we started work on this territory.

We think there will be so many tools, technologies and practices in native advertising in the coming years. We see Zen to a large extent as a platform for native advertising and want to be among the leaders in this market.

In

the coming years, thousands, tens of thousands of new media will be created. Not only in "Zen," but also in Instagram, in Telegram, on. YouTube Brands are becoming media. This is a big such drilling. This market is based to a large extent on the reputation and image economy, on native advertising. We want to direct our money to stimulate this market^[13]

Notes