Satellite (pay) TV market of Russia

Regulation of television broadcasting

2020: The State Duma supported the project to provide ILV access to operator networks

On December 9, 2020, RIA Novosti reported that the State Duma at a plenary session adopted a bill in the first reading, according to which the telecom operator will have to provide Roskomnadzor with access to its network to install technical controls in it.

The authors of the bill were the head of the information policy committee Alexander Khinshtein, the first deputy chairman of the committee Sergei Boyarsky and the deputy chairman of the committee Maxim Kudryavtsev.

The bill provides for the obligation of a telecom operator providing communication services for cable broadcasting purposes, provide to the federal executive body exercising the functions of control and supervision in the field of mass media, mass communications, information technologies and communications, and the radio frequency service access to their communication network in order to install technical means of control in it in the manner prescribed by the specified body - the explanatory note says.

As the authors explain, the proposed changes are due to the difficulties faced by Roskomnadzor and its territorial bodies in exercising state control and supervision over channels distributed exclusively in the cable communication network, and Russian legal entities that form such channels and distribute them.

In order to check that the editorial offices of cable TV channels, television programs and their broadcasters comply with the requirements of the current legislation of the Russian Federation, without engaging with them, the territorial body of Roskomnadzor or the radio frequency service needs to conclude contracts with telecom operators providing communication services for cable broadcasting purposes, the explanatory note says.

According to the authors, this situation creates the risks of disseminating information containing public calls for terrorist activities and the overthrow of the constitutional system, extremist materials, as well as materials promoting pornography, the cult of violence and cruelty.

In order to resolve these circumstances, it is proposed to adopt a bill, - says the explanatory note[1].

2023

The Russian pay TV market has ceased to grow

The volume of the Russian pay TV market in 2023 amounted to 106 billion rubles. This was announced in February 2024 by analysts at TMT Consulting. According to them, as well as, according to Tricolor, the market has stopped growing, and the number of satellite television subscribers in 2023 has completely decreased - albeit slightly, by 0.1%.

Project Director of TMT Consulting Elena Krylova, in a conversation with Kommersant, cited data according to which the average income of pay-TV operators per subscriber in 2023 reached 191 rubles. According to Krylova, the cessation of growth is associated with two main factors:

The growth of the pay TV market ended in 2023

• the continued decline of the cable TV segment as more subscribers disconnect from analog viewing, replacing it with free-to-air;
• interference in satellite TV in June - July 2023, they led to an outflow of subscribers who switched to online cinemas.

The publication adds that the departure of foreign channels, including MTV, Nickelodeon and Discover, as well as a decrease in the solvency of subscribers, brought a blow to the pay TV market in Russia. In addition, the expectations of operators counting on audience growth amid a reduction in online cinema libraries were not met. Such services have increased the purchase of Eastern content and the production of their own original projects.

According to experts interviewed by the newspaper, the only catalyst for the development of the pay TV market remains the interactive segment, when subscribers can interact with TV, changing the appearance of the image shown. However, interest in this service is observed only in the regions. The rest of the paid segment significantly suppresses nonlinear television (the viewer independently chooses the content and the time to access it). According to experts, the growth of the category annually is about 35-40%.^[2]

Fifth satellite TV operator launched in Russia

On January 19, 2023, it became known about the launch Russia of the fifth satellite television operator. We are talking about the company "Russian World," which began to work in the territories Donetsk Luganskaya and people's republics, Zaporozhskaya Hersonskaya and regions, republic Crimea and city. Sevastopol More here.

2022: The Russian pay-TV market grew by 10% over the year to 124.7 billion rubles

By the end of 2022, there were 54.6 million pay-TV users in Russia, which is 5.1% more than a year earlier. Analysts at J'son & Partners Consulting cited such data in July 2023.

In monetary terms, the volume of the Russian pay-TV market in 2022 reached 124.7 billion rubles, an increase of 10% compared to 2021. ARPU (average income per user) grew slightly (+ 4 rubles by 2021) and amounted to 188 rubles per month.

The researchers associated the growth of the market with the development of OTT services by operators. The rest of the segments - satellite, analog, digital TV and IPTV - saw a decline in users. Such data are provided in a study by J'son & Partners Consulting.

The largest outflow of subscribers occurred in analog (-2.3%) and satellite TV (-3.1%). At the same time, the last segment still remains the leader in the number of customers. If we compare the structure of distribution of subscribers by signal delivery technology in 2021 and 2022, we can see how the OTT segment is increasing the subscriber base at a fast pace. In 2021, it accounted for 18.7% of the total subscriber base, and in 2022 - 25%.

According to J'son & Partners Consulting experts, the key factors in the development of the pay TV market in 2022 were:

• The departure of 60 foreign TV channels and a number of content producers;
• Forced rejection of foreign satellites by Russian operators;
• Prohibition of supply and maintenance of telecommunication equipment in Russia;
• Rostinflations and complication of foreign exchange transactions.

Against this background, operators focused on replenishing the losses of TV channels through their own production and domestic manufacturers, as well as on the development of IPTV and OTT segments, the analytical report notes.

2021

Pay TV market in Russia grew by 1.5% to 106.2 billion rubles - TMT Consulting

The growth of the pay TV market in Russia at the end of 2021 turned out to be a record low - the operators' revenue increased by only 1.5% compared to 2020 and amounted to 106.2 billion rubles. This was reported on February 21, 2022 at the TMT Consulting analytical agency.

The growth of the pay TV subscriber base in Russia in 2021 was also small - + 0.6% (up to 46.5 million users) against 1.8% in 2020. Penetration of the service is estimated at 82.5%.

The reason for the slowdown in the dynamics in the pay-TV services market was not only a decrease in the influx of new subscribers, but also the stabilization of ARPU. The average account per subscriber in 2021 increased by only 1 ruble (from 190 to 191 rubles) - operators very carefully, in order to avoid increasing outflow, approached the issue of raising tariffs, the researchers explained.

In addition, the increase in the profitability of the service restrained the growth in the penetration of package tariffs. In order to increase the average account, operators began to pay even more attention to the development of VoD (video-on-demand) services, expanding their own libraries and entering into partnership agreements with online cinemas.

In the cable television segment, the subscriber base in Russia in 2021 decreased by 360 thousand. Negative dynamics also came in revenue due to the refusal of many operators to increase tariffs in 2021. Mainly due to the outflow of users in cable TV in Moscow over the year, the size of the subscriber base of paid TV decreased by 100 thousand.

In the segment of satellite TV, experts note the persistence of stagnation: the total number of subscribers at the end of the year 2021 increased by 32 thousand. Most of the connections are with the youngest player in this market, MTS, which, nevertheless, also notes a significant decrease in the influx of new subscribers.

The main growing technology remains IPTV technology. The bulk of the subscriber base growth (about 580 thousand) again fell on Rostelecom and MTS, which continue to build and modernize their networks and actively promote convergent tariffs. Local operators accounted for only about 8% of the increase.

Over the year, the market structure by technology has undergone small changes: IPTV's share in the total number subscriber base increased from 22% to 24%, in the revenue structure - from 33% to 36%. The income gap between cable TV and IPTV narrowed from 9 p.p. to 5 p.p.

According to analysts, online video services such as ivi Kinopoisk,, and others, Okko Megogo which, in addition to VoD, offer TV, are beginning to compete more and more with traditional pay-TV technologies.

The growth of the fleet of TVs with Smart TV support, on which many video services with paid and free TV channels are already preinstalled, also contributes to increased competition.

The composition and positions of the largest players in the Russian pay TV market in 2021 have not changed. Once again, MTS became the leader in terms of growth, increasing the number of users by 280 thousand over the year. The growth was partially due to the completion of the accession to the group of assets of the Green Point, bought back in 2020.

The second place was retained by Rostelecom, whose subscriber base in the pay TV market increased by 120 thousand. Like the previous two years, these operators in 2021 became the only ones whose annual growth exceeded one hundred thousand subscribers. Both Rostelecom and MTS are actively developing their video services (Wink and Kion), which allows them to attract new and retain existing subscribers, the report says.

The remaining three operators from TOP-5 managed to maintain positive dynamics (less than 0.1% - 0.7%), while the increase was insignificant - from 4 to 21 thousand.^[3]

In the third quarter, the number of subscribers to the pay TV service increased by 0.1%

Pay TV in Russia is almost not growing. This became known on November 18, 2021.

According to the results of the 3rd quarter, according to TMT Consulting, the number of subscribers to the pay TV service increased by 0.1% (by 90 thousand) and amounted to 46.3 million. The penetration of the service remained at the level of 82%.

Operators' revenue from the provision of pay-TV services did not increase compared to the 2nd quarter, again amounting to 26.5 billion rubles. The absence of growth in the 3rd quarter is noted for the first time, earlier only in the 1st quarter there was traditionally a decrease in revenue due to seasonality in the satellite segment, while in the other quarters there was always growth.

The average subscriber account (ARPU) slightly decreased (by 0.4 rubles), remaining at 191 rubles - this figure has not changed since the beginning of the year.

^{Pay TV Market - Q3 2021}

The growth in the number of subscribers occurred only in the IPTV segment: compared to a year earlier, the number of households connected using this technology increased by 700 thousand.

There was no growth in satellite TV in the past quarter. The number of KTV subscribers continued to decline - over the year, KTV operators lost almost 300 thousand users.

^{Technology Subscriber Base Growth}

Almost the entire growth of the 3rd quarter (89 thousand) fell on the operators included in the TOP-5. MTS remains the market leader in terms of growth rates - during the quarter, the operator managed to increase the number of subscribers by 48 thousand due to new connections to both wired technologies and satellite TV.

The subscriber base "" has grown by 34 thousand. Rostelecom The operator continues to increase the share of packet connections IPTV+BROADBAND ACCESS: in the 3rd quarter, the share of packet subscribers increased by another 0.6%. The growth dynamics of other operators from TOP-5 did not exceed 0.1%.

^{TOP-5 of Russian pay-TV operators, thousand subscribers}

The total subscriber base of operators not included in the TOP-5 has hardly changed: the outflow in the KTV segment was compensated by an increase in the number of IPTV subscribers.

In Moscow, the number of subscribers continues to decline (-0.2% in the 3rd quarter). The capital remains the largest pay-TV market - it accounts for 12% of the entire Russian subscriber base and 13% of revenue.

The positions of operators in the capital market in the 3rd quarter did not change. MTS has traditionally become the fastest growing operator with an increase of 7 thousand^[4] subscribers^[5].

2020

The number of subscribers rose to 44.847 million households

On February 10, 2021, IAA TelecomDaily reported that the total number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia in 2020 increased by 817 thousand and reached 44.847 million households. The annual increase was 25% more than in 2019. This growth is primarily due to the transfer of employees to "remote work" and the process of self-isolation. The penetration of pay-TV services in Russia is at the level of 81%. The average check per subscriber (ARPU) is 195 rubles. per month excluding VAT.

The three leaders among pay-TV operators were able to increase their bases: Tricolor gained 51 thousand households, Rostelecom increased the base by 100 thousand subscribers, MTS connected the most subscribers for the second quarter in a row, while increasing the base by 122 thousand subscribers.

In 2020, we again saw the growth of the pay-TV services market, which slowed down in 2019. The main reason for the growth was the factors of the self-isolation regime, when people began to consume more digital services, including linear media content. This trend was especially noticeable in large cities, where many companies switched to remote operation. On the contrary, in small settlements this trend did not show itself, there was little growth here, comments Director General of IAA "TelecomDaily " Denis Kuskov

{{quote 'author = said the general director of Orion the GC Kirill Makhnovsky""|2020, of course, was distinguished by its unpredictability, for all market participants. Despite, pandemic we were able to implement several interesting and ambitious projects, financial ensuring sustainability. The lack bases of subscriber growth did not prevent the preservation of the previous volume of revenues and market share in the DTH direction, which allows us to talk about its positive dynamics and significance in the company's portfolio. I hope that 2021 will bring everyone a return to their usual life. Much will depend on the pace of advertizing market recovery. The trend will continue on comprehensive monetization platforms and subscriber bases, including through the creation and development of ecosystems. At the same time, it is important to strive that the steps taken by the players do not harm the pay television market, }}

TelecomDaily: The number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia in the third quarter reached 44.537 million households

On November 6, 2020, TelecomDaily reported that the total number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia in 3Q2020 increased by 205 thousand and reached 44.537 million households. The increase was less than in the 2nd quarter of 2020, when there was a noticeable jump due to the transfer of employees to "remote work." The penetration of pay-TV services in Russia is at the level of 80%. The average check per subscriber (ARPU) is 196 rubles. per month excluding VAT.

The five largest pay-TV operators in 3Q 2020

The development of the top 5 pay-TV operators: Tricolor reduced the subscriber base of 24 thousand households, Rostelecom gained 70 thousand customers, MTS for the first time in the last few years was able to connect the largest number of subscribers among all players, including Rostelecom, ER-Telecom after 5 quarters of no growth grew by 10 thousand, and Orion was able to add 25 thousand households to its base.

Comments on the general director of IAA "TelecomDaily" Denis Kuskov:

In the third quarter, the growth of the pay TV services market slowed down after a noticeable growth in the 2 quarter, which was due to the unusual conditions in which our country found itself: during a pandemic and self-isolation regime, people began to consume more digital services, including linear media content. This trend was especially noticeable in large cities, where many companies switched to remote operation. On the contrary, in small settlements this trend did not show itself, there was almost no growth here.

Comments on the General Director of Orion Group Kirill Makhnovsky: {{quote "As expected, the market was unable to maintain the high rate of subscriber connections taken earlier in the third quarter. However, almost all operators ended the reporting period with positive subscriber base dynamics. This suggests that the situation in the pay-TV market is stabilizing: the growth of connections has "leveled off" in accordance with the level of penetration, while the outflow has decreased. I hope this trend will continue in future periods. }}

2019

J'son & Partners Consulting

In past years, J'son & Partners Consulting has singled out as a basic pay-TV service the provision of a subscriber with the possibility of linear viewing of TV channels using cable, IPTV or satellite broadcasting technologies. Given the rapid shift in the paradigm of market development, in 2019 all operators concentrated on a new television signal delivery service - OTT applications. They allow not only to retain the subscriber, but also to offer him new services that are impossible when using previous signal delivery technologies.

In 2018, the growth of the corporate segment was primarily caused by high demand for connecting legal entities from the HoReCa segment (hotels, restaurants, cafes) to pay TV before the start of the World Cup. In 2019, the main driver of connections was a comprehensive service for offices - Internet, telephony, video surveillance and TV.

According to J'son & Partners Consulting estimates, in 2019 the number of corporate clients for pay-TV in the B2B segment amounted to 104.8 thousand, an increase of 13% compared to the previous year.

Most of all new customers in 2019 attracted Rostelecom"" (9.5 thousand), which allowed the operator to strengthen its leadership. Tricolor TV"" ranks second. In total, the two leaders account for 60.1% of the entire subscriber base, which repeats the overall situation in the B2C segment. Total revenue from the provision of pay-TV services in the B2B segment in 2019 amounted to 1.73 billion. rubles Traditionally, the cost of the service for business customers is higher (ARPU in 2019 amounted to 1374 rubles per month) than for private ones. Thus, the price of paid TV in the B2B segment is almost 7 times higher than in the B2C.

At the end of 2019, 44.2 million subscribers used pay-TV services in Russia, which is 2.3% higher than in 2018. The service penetration rate amounted to 78.2% of the country's households, excluding the intersections of operators' subscriber bases. And taking into account the intersections of 64-65% of all households in Russia. The revenue of the pay TV market in 2019 amounted to 102 billion rubles. Compared to 2018, the growth is 7.1%. ARPU rose slightly (by 4%) to 190 rubles per month. The main sources of revenue growth were the active use of convergent tariffs by operators, but some players also continued to increase prices.

According to the forecast, the total revenue of the pay-TV industry by 2024 will amount to almost 130 billion rubles. According to the basic forecast for the development of pay TV in Russia for the period until 2024:

• The subscriber base of traditional pay TV will show insignificant growth during 2021 and 2022. Primarily due to the attraction of OTT and IPTV subscribers by operators
• The number of subscribers to satellite and analog cable TV services will continue to decrease.
• The peak penetration - 79% of Russian households - the industry will reach in 2022.
• From 2023, a gradual decrease in the total subscriber base of pay TV will begin.

TelecomDaily: total number of pay-TV subscribers reaches 44.03 mln

On February 6, 2020, TelecomDaily reported that the total number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia in 2019 reached 44.03 million, in the fourth quarter, operators connected a little more than 275 thousand households. This is the maximum figure for all four quarters. The total growth for the year amounted to 645 thousand households, while 1.245 million were connected in 2018. Thus, the rate of connections has almost halved year-on-year.

Penetration of pay TV services is at the level of 80%. The average check per subscriber (ARPU) is 190 rubles. per month. The market volume in monetary terms in 2019 exceeded 100 billion rubles, which corresponds to growth within 5%.

Growth dynamics of the subscriber base of pay-TV quarterly, thousand subscribers

TOP-5 TV operators also showed the best connection results for the year in the fourth quarter, with the main connections provided Rostelecom by "" and. MTS The market leader, the operator of the platform of the same name satellite "," Tricolor retained the recruited base. Rostelecom in the second position added 130 thousand subscribers, MTS in turn - about 91 thousand "" AYR-Telecom for the fourth quarter in a row does not demonstrate growth, putting in order previously acquired assets and integrating them into its network. Another satellite operator, "," Orion connected a little less than 20 thousand subscribers.

The five largest pay-TV operators at the end of 2019:

^{* - including MTS satellite subscribers}

Shares of the largest pay-TV operators at the end of 2019, thousand subscribers:

Market growth in 2019 was twice as bad as in 2018, if assessed by the number of connections. The fourth quarter made it possible to bring some optimism to further development, since over the previous three quarters much more modest indicators were recorded - no more than 150-160 thousand additional households. However, the high share of penetration of the pay-TV service plus the presence of a digital TV program indicates that market growth will slow down even more in 2020. According to my forecasts, by the end of 2020, more than 400 thousand households are unlikely to be connected. Obviously, operators are still interested in increasing revenue from each subscriber and are trying to achieve this by expanding the range of services, comments Director General of IAA "TelecomDaily " Denis Kuskov

A twofold reduction in the growth rate of the subscriber base of pay-TV operators in 2019 was completely expected. In addition to the natural slowdown in market growth, the emergence of a direct competitor in the person of an on-air digit, with massive financial and information support, made itself felt. An advertising campaign with theses about "free high-quality TV for everyone" could not but motivate subscribers to refuse a paid subscription. We began to observe the turning point of this trend at the end of 2019, when, after evaluating free TV, the viewer began to return to paying for a subscription. Of course, it will still not be possible to level the losses that the market suffered in the first two quarters by the end of the year. However, due to the fact that operators have been preparing for a reduction in growth rates over the past two years, many have learned to work better with existing subscriber bases, began to look for ways to monetize in related areas, and have achieved success in this. The main task is to convince the subscriber that our package offer is worthy of paying for it. To do this, we actively work with the regional multiplex, form attractive offers for permanent subscribers, and unite the most popular majors on the market. I think 2020 for the industry will be more productive, and we will be able to focus on business development, and not on combating external factors, said General Director of Orion Group Kirill Makhnovsky

Digital TV Research Forecast

The total number of subscribers to traditional pay-TV in Eastern Europe will decrease from 82.33 million in 2018 to 78.64 million connected households in 2024. In Russia, which accounts for half of all pay-TV users in the region, 2.88 million subscribers will refuse this service, according to a study by Digital TV Research.

The result of the outflow of the subscriber base will be a reduction in total revenues from the provision of pay TV services in the region: from $6.95 billion in 2019 to $6.59 billion in 2024, analysts predict. A particularly noticeable drop in revenues will be recorded among operators of analog cable television - from $877 million in 2018 to $33 million in 2024. Digital pay TV, on the contrary, during the period under review will increase the subscriber base (from 13 million to 78 million) and revenue, according to the material based on data from the Digital TV Research study.

2018

J’son & Partners Consulting

In 2018, 43.2 million subscribers used pay TV in Russia, which is 3.1% higher than in 2017. The penetration rate of the service was 75.4% of the country's households without taking into account the intersections of operators' subscriber bases, taking into account intersections - 62-63% of all Russian households.

In the structure of the subscriber base, 39.5% is satellite television, 27.7% is analog cable TV (AKTV), 13.9% is digital cable TV (KTV) and 18.9% is IP television (IPTV). At the end of 2018, against the background of the general growth in the number of subscribers, the share of satellite TV did not change, and KTV and IPTV increased it due to AKTV.

The revenue of the pay TV market in 2018 amounted to 95.3 billion rubles, which is 14.2% more than in 2017. Such a sharp increase was possible primarily due to an increase in the cost of the service by the largest operators and revenue from additional services. As part of the basic forecast until 2023, industry revenues will continue to grow at an average annual rate of 4%, while in 2019 they will exceed the level of 100 billion rubles.

According to the basic forecast of J'son & Partners Consulting for the development of pay TV in Russia for the period until 2023:

• Digital cable and IP television will remain growing segments.
• The total subscriber base of AKTV will decrease.
• Free analog TV will retain part of the audience even after the broadcast of TV channels 1 and 2 multiplexes is turned off in 2019, because some regional channels will remain in analog broadcasting.
• Digital terrestrial TV (CETV) will receive a sharp increase in viewers in 2019 due to state attention, an active advertising campaign, a volunteer movement and a well-thought-out phased transition. Further, the audience of the CETV will be stable and will practically not change in the planning horizon under consideration.
• OTT services with streaming broadcasting of TV channels will develop in two directions:
• Operator - in order to increase loyalty and attract new subscribers, they will offer multi-platform solutions;
• Non-operators will increase the offer of streaming broadcasting channels to attract new users.

TelecomDaily: Penetration of pay-TV services exceeded 75%

The total number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia in 2018 amounted to 43.385 million households. The annual increase was 1,255,000 households (in 2017, the increase was 930,000), and the quarterly increase was 330 thousand subscribers. The penetration of pay-TV services exceeded 75%. At the same time, the average check per subscriber (ARPU) amounted to 175 rubles. per month, the information and analytical agency TelecomDaily shared the data on January 30, 2019.

Almost the entire volume of new connections, more than 90%, in the fourth quarter fell on the top five largest operators in the market.

satellite At the "Tricolor" end of the year, the market leader, operator, had a subscriber base of 12.226 million households, "" Rostelecom covers 10.170 million households. The third in terms of the number of subscribers ER-Telecom ended the year with a base of 3.74 million households.

The increase in the number of new subscribers among pay-TV operators, exceeding the indicators of the previous year, suggests that the industry is gradually adapting to economic changes, is deeper imbued with the current needs of subscribers, each company is looking for new growth points for itself. However, for sustainable strategic development, consolidated efforts of participants, uniform rules of the game are needed, which will allow you to stop the "tug of the blanket on yourself" and pay attention to the development of systemic resources that can radically influence the increase in ARPU. In the meantime, we are witnessing a variety of attempts to "redo" what is, generating difficult-to-interpret jumps in indicators dictated by random factors, - said Kirill Makhnovsky, General Director of Orion Group of Companies.

Market growth in 2018 was better than in 2017. This says that despite the saturation of the market, there are still growth points for both satellite and wired operators. The main growth was due to the development in the regions with a lack of transport infrastructure and the launch of new networks in new cities. Also, operators are still trying to increase revenue from each subscriber, offering a larger range of services, - said Denis Kuskov, General Director of IAA TelecomDaily.

TMT Consulting: the volume of the pay TV market is 99.3 billion rubles

In Russia, at the end of 2018, the number of pay-TV users reached 44.2 million, and the penetration of the service exceeded 77%. The increase in the subscriber base was 3.2% against 3.8% in 2017. The market volume amounted to 99.3 billion rubles.

Such data are contained in a report on the preliminary results of the pay TV market in 2018, prepared by TMT Consulting. It notes that with a slight increase in the subscriber base, the dynamics of the total revenue of players in the pay TV market remained consistently high: 10.8% in 2018 against 10.6% in 2017. This is due to the increase in tariffs carried out by some operators, a change in the revenue accounting methodology, as well as an increase in the consumption of additional services (VoD, multiroom, delayed viewing, and so on), according to TMT Consulting. In particular, the average account per subscriber (ARPU) for the year increased by 11 rubles. and amounted to 178 rubles. excluding VAT.

TMT Consulting notes that the number of cable TV subscribers continues to decline in Russia, but the outflow of KTV subscribers is observed only in the analog segment. Over the year, television in this format stopped watching (turned off completely or switched to "digital") over 400 thousand households. As a result, the share of digital subscribers in the structure of the subscriber base of the entire paid TV increased to 73%.

IPTV remains the fastest growing technology: new subscribers are for the most part broadband access subscribers who have switched to package tariffs. The increase in the subscriber base of satellite TV turned out to be half as much, the youngest player in this market, MTS, made the main contribution to it, TMT Consulting found out.

The gap between satellite technology and IPTV has noticeably grown in the revenue structure - now it is 7 percentage points (pp), and not 3 percentage points, as a year earlier. The share of KTV decreased from 49% to 43%. Significant differences in the change in the average technology account led to such results: while in KTV the ARPU indicator changed slightly, in the satellite segment it increased by 8 rubles (which is due to the increase in tariffs by Tricolor in the second half of the year), and in IPTV - immediately by 47 rubles.

As in 2017, the market growth was due to operators from the top 5, while other operators continued to lose subscribers. At the same time, the share of MTS in the structure for subscribers increased by 1 pp, the share of Tricolor decreased by the same amount. Rostelecom and ER-Telecom increased in terms of revenue (by 3 pp and 1 pp, respectively).

ER-Telecom became the leader in absolute subscriber base growth in 2018: an increase of 407 thousand was due to activities aimed at merger and acquisition. Rostelecom connected 400 thousand subscribers over the year. Both operators of these are market leaders in terms of revenue growth (by 22-23%).

MTS subscriber base increased by 332 thousand. The main contribution to the increase was made by satellite technology: over the year, the company connected over 250 thousand new users to satellite TV.

In 2018, the stagnation of the market for the first time affected the largest players. The leader of the Russian market - the satellite operator Tricolor - has lost some of its customers. The reasons were the termination by the operator of broadcasting in MPEG-2 format and an increase in the cost of basic packages, according to TMT Consulting.

PREVIOUS FORECAST

In 2018, the Russian pay TV market will grow by 10.8%, follows from preliminary data from the TMT Consulting analytical agency, which the company shared at the end of December 2018. Taking into account the fact that the volume of the pay TV market in 2017, according to TMT Consulting, amounted to 83.8 billion rubles, then, therefore, in 2018, the total revenue of players in this segment will reach about 92.9 billion, according to Telesputnik.

TMT Consulting notes that the growth of the subscriber base continues to slow down in the pay TV market: the increase in 2018 was 2.1% against 3.6% in 2017. However, the dynamics of revenue remains stable (in 2017 it was 10.6%). The agency attributes this to the fact that some operators raised the cost of subscription fees, and their customers began to consume more additional services: video on demand, delayed viewing, and so on. In addition, some market players have changed the methodology for calculating revenue (the TMT Consulting report does not contain information about which companies are in question and how the methodology was changed).

In general, according to preliminary data from TMT Consulting, the growth dynamics telecommunications Russia of the Russian market in 2018 will be 3.4% (the highest dynamics over the past five years), and its volume will reach 1.70 trillion rubles. At the same time, in 2018 providers , revenues from the provision of fixed (telephony minus 8.4%) and inter-operator services (minus 5.8%) decreased, but segments mobile communication and Internet access continue to grow - by 5% and 3.2%, respectively. ACCORDING TO THE^[6]

Authorities oblige satellite operators to work in the outback for free

The State Duma adopted at the end of 2018 in the second reading a bill on providing residents of hard-to-reach territories with a free opportunity to view federal TV channels via satellite^[7] in the^[8].

The corresponding document in the form of amendments to the Law "On Communications" was submitted to parliament by a number of deputies, including Vice Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy, Yevgeny Revenko and head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications Leonid Levin. In the past, Tolstoy and Revenko were the presenters of federal television channels.

The bill prohibits satellite television operators from refusing residents of settlements deprived of the opportunity to receive a digital broadcast TV signal to conclude free of charge contracts for viewing and listening to mandatory all-Russian public television and radio channels and channels broadcasting through digital multiplexes throughout the country.

What channels in the outback can be watched for free Mandatory public channels are channels included in the first multiplex of digital television. These are 10 TV channels: Channel One Russia , 1, Russia 24, Russia K, Match TV, NTV, TV Center, Karusel, Public Russian Television and Channel Five. The same multiplex includes the Mayak, Yunost and Radio radio stations. The Russia second multiplex includes 10 more TV channels: Ren TV, STS, TV-3, Spas, TNT, MuzTV, "Mir" Zvezda, Friday and Domashny.

2017

J’son & Partners Consulting

Russian pay-TV operators are actively developing additional services - this is confirmed by the data of the report J'son & Partners Consulting (Jason and Partners Consulting). According to him, the revenue of paid television from the provision of basic television broadcasting services in the country reached 83.4 billion rubles in 2017 - this is 8.8% more than in 2016. The share of additional services in the income of companies is still small - a little more than 4%, but the segment significantly accelerates growth. Thus, the total revenue from additional pay-TV services in Russia is estimated at 3.8 billion rubles, which is 40.7% more compared to the previous year.

In the pay TV market, the structure of signal delivery types is gradually changing. The share of satellite TV has remained practically unchanged (39.6% in 2017 compared to 39.8% in 2016). But cable TV is inferior to IPTV. Their shares in 2017 amounted to 42.6% and 17.7%, respectively, while a year earlier the ratio was slightly different - 44.4% and 15.8%.

Relative to 2016, the shares of Rostelecom, Tricolor TV, MTS and ER-Telecom increased in the total subscriber base. Moreover, for the first three operators, this happened due to the attraction of new subscribers, and ER-Telecom increased the number of subscribers primarily due to the active purchase of telecom operators in the regions. More than half of the market is occupied by the two largest players - Tricolor TV (29.3%) and Rostelecom (23.3%), while the share of the third largest player - ER-Telecom - is only 7.7%.

TelecomDaily

Results of the year

According to IAA TelecomDaily, the total number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia in 2017 amounted to 42.13 million, which is 2.3% more than in 2016. Thus, an increase was recorded at the level of only 250 thousand new subscribers for the quarter, over the year the number of paid subscribers increased by 930 thousand households. Thus, for the first time in the last few years, the market did not gain 1 million new subscribers.

The penetration of pay-TV services at the end of the reporting period amounted to 75%. The average check per subscriber (ARPU) increased and amounted to 170 rubles. per month (against the 2016 figure of 155 rubles). The growth of ARPU is primarily due to the use of additional services, such as delayed viewing, pause, etc.

About 90% of new connections in 2017 fell on the top five largest operators in the market. The market leader, a satellite operator, Tricolor TV in 2017 increased the subscriber base by 140 thousand subscribers - to 12.28 million households. The second largest player, Rostelecom"," increased the base by 520 thousand - up to 9.82 million. The third largest number of subscribers Er-Telecom grew by 372 thousand subscribers - up to 3.342 million. The company's growth in 2017 was mainly not due to organic growth, but through transactions. M&A"" Orion increased the base by 122.4 thousand to 3.342 million subscribers, - MTS by 36 thousand to 2.796 million.

Activities in 2017 did not allow operators to attract a significant number of subscribers, which indicates a saturation of the market in terms of new connections. Operators try to increase revenue from each subscriber by offering a larger range of services. The satellite segment is still active, but more than 75% of connections for the reporting period are wired broadcasting, commented on the results of the year, TelecomDaily CEO Denis Kuskov.

Results of the first half of the year

According to the IAA TelecomDaily study, the total number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia in the first half of 2017 amounted to 41.65 million subscribers, which is an increase of only 0.27 million new subscribers in the quarter.

The penetration of pay-TV services at the end of the reporting period amounted to 73%. The average check per subscriber is 152 rubles. per month.

About 90% of new connections in the second quarter of 2017 belong to the first "five" of the largest TV operators.

The market leader, satellite operator Tricolor TV, for the II sq. 2017 increased the subscriber base by 60 thousand subscribers to 12.21 million households. The second largest player, Rostelecom, increased its subscriber base by 140 thousand to 9.55 million. The third Orion increased the base by 29.5 thousand to 3.008 million subscribers, slightly strengthening its position in the top three. Rostelecom again accounted for more than 50% of all connections for the quarter.

2016

iKS-Consulting

According to iKS-Consulting estimates, 41.2 million households used the pay-TV service by the end of 2016. Thus, the Russian audience of paid TV increased by 4.9% over the year. The penetration of the service by the end of 2016 represents 72.8% of the total number of households, an increase of 3.4% compared to the results of 2015.

Cable TV, which has practically ceased to grow, showed only a small dynamics in 2016 - 1.2%. At the same time, there is a decrease in analog TV subscribers (-5.5%) and a significant increase in digital TV subscribers (+ 21%).

In Russia, there is still a fairly strong difference in the penetration of pay-TV services in the context of federal districts, which is due to the following factors:

• Presence or absence of large cities with developed cable infrastructure in the region
• Completeness of satellite coverage in a particular region
• Differences in the level of economic development of the regions.

TOP operators with a market share of more than 5% in the country are 5 providers. The main change over the past year and a half was the exit of the operator ER-Telecom to third place, 0.04% ahead of the next Orion-Express company. Orion Express, showing an increase of 10.6% compared to last year, is closely behind ER-Telecom.

TelecomDaily

According to IAA TelecomDaily, the total number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia in 2016 amounted to 41.28 million subscribers. Thus, an increase of 1.66 million new subscribers for the year was recorded. The fourth quarter of 2016 was the best in terms of subscriber growth in 2016.

The penetration of pay-TV services amounted to 74% at the end of the year. The average check per subscriber was 150 rubles per month. The volume of the pay TV market for 2016 amounted to 72.1 billion rubles (at the end of 2016 it was 67.5 billion rubles).

About 90% of connections in 2016 belong to the first "five" of the largest TV operators.

The market leader, satellite operator Tricolor TV, in 2016 increased its subscriber base by 340 thousand, to 12.14 million households. The second largest player, Rostelecom, increased its subscriber base by 800 thousand, to 9.4 million. The third Orion increased the base by 153 thousand, to 2.953 million subscribers, strengthening its position in the top three and did not allow ER-Telecom to bypass itself, despite the purchase of WestCall.

2015

iKS-Consulting

The main players with a subscriber base share of more than 5% are Tricolor, Rostelecom, MTS, ER-Telecom and Orion-Express. The subscriber base of the market leader Tricolor TV reached 11.8 million subscribers, which is 881 thousand more households than in 2014. TOP-5 providers with

The active growth of digital TV with a decrease in analog connections is one of the main market trends of recent years. As a result, as of the end of 2015, about 61% of the total number of pay-TV subscribers use digital TV services.

Such a rapid movement towards digital TV is associated with the development of new technologies (IPTV, OTT), the reduction in the cost of digital TV equipment provided by many operators with the possibility of leasing or free use, as well as due to the widespread availability of satellite TV.

J’son & Partners Consulting

In 2015, the subscriber base of pay-TV in Russia grew to 39.8 million subscribers.

The main contribution was made by satellite TV (+ 8% of new subscribers) IPTV and (+ 23.9%). According to the basic forecast until 2020, these segments will continue to grow: satellite dishes due to the lack of an alternative outside the cities, and IPTV due to the increase Internet in broadband access in. The share of cable TV will decrease, while subscribers will switch from analog to digital signals within the segment.

In the struggle for a subscriber in 2015, large operators used aggressive marketing campaigns, bundling a large number of services into one offer and discounts on shares. But the main argument for the viewer continues to be a large set of TV channels (the operator's maximum offer is 276) and the presence of HD versions in it (up to 60). The number of viewers of HD channels increased by 40% over the year and amounted to 14.3 million households.

Most of all new subscribers were attracted by the Trikolor-TV and Rostelecom operators. As a result, they now account for more than half of all subscribers of paid TV in Russia (Chart 2). At the same time, due to different tariff policies, the Top-5 rating of operators by revenue looks different:

• Rostelecom.
• Tricolor-TV.
• Er-Telecom.
• MTS.
• NTV Plus

The total revenue of operators from the provision of paid TV services increased in 2015 by 5% and reached 69.8 billion rubles.

Telecom Content Market

TV channels have undergone a significant transformation in the analyzed year due to new legislative norms. Mergers, acquisitions and enlargements resulted in 18 aggregators and distributors. Three of them are the largest in terms of the number of channels (National Media Group, Gazprom-Media and Signal Media). The total number of non-air channels available in the country is 363, of which more than 80% is distributed on a paid basis.

Pay-TV Industry Forecasts

The pay TV market in Russia in the coming years will continue to grow both in subscribers and in revenue. J'son & Partners Consulting experts predict the average annual growth rate of revenue of the entire market for the period up to 2020 is not higher than 2-3%, which is due to a decrease in the growth rate of the subscriber base, a decrease in the real disposable incomes of the population and active competition among operators.

The increase in operators' income is possible, first of all, through the development of additional services, such as VOD (video on demand), Timeshift (delayed viewing) or Multiroom (connecting several televisions in a household). At the same time, services that were previously positioned as separate (for example, mobile TV) are combined into Multiscreen (the ability to watch programs and films on any device as part of a common subscription). This is due to changes in demand from consumers, the replacement of the fleet of TVs (an increase in the share of SmartTV) and an increase in the number of mobile devices.

As part of the scenario of advanced development of the penetration of new technologies, J'son & Partners Consulting predicts that in 2019 the total number of pay TV subscribers and OTT service subscribers may exceed the number of households in Russia.

Digital TV Research

At the end of 2015, the number of pay-TV subscribers in Russia amounted to 39.5 million - this is the fourth largest indicator in comparison with other countries of the world. In the top three - China (263.7 million), India (148.5 million) and the United States (97.6 million). Japan closes the top five (25.1 million). This is evidenced by data from the Digital TV Research study.

It is noteworthy that Russia did not enter the top ten countries either in terms of income from paid TV services or in terms of its penetration. According to the first indicator, the top ten leaders are headed by the United States ($104 billion), followed by China ($9.8 billion), Great Britain ($7.6 billion), Brazil, Canada and Japan (all $7.3 billion each). South Korea is the leader in the penetration of pay-TV services, where this figure over the past year was 99.5%, followed by the Netherlands (99.3%), Belgium (97%), Norway (96.5%) and Switzerland (94.8%).

As for Russia, in terms of penetration of pay-TV services, it took 35th place, and in terms of income (less than $1.13 billion) - 21.

According to the study, the level of global penetration of pay-TV last year rose from 40.4% in 2010 to 74.6%. During the reporting period, 584 million households in 138 countries of the world began to use pay TV services. At the same time, the number of households connected to digital TV doubled to 1.1170 million.

In the period from 2010 to 2015. 156 million households began to use digital terrestrial television (DTT) services, 231 million digital cable TV, 88 million IPTV, 67 million satellite TV. The report notes that at the end of 2015, 398 million subscribers still used the services of analog TV. In 2010, this figure was 863 million.

2014

J’son & Partners Consulting

According to analysts, this market will grow and by 2019 the number of subscribers will increase to 45.2 million households.

According to the results of 2014, the Russian pay TV market totaled 37.6 million households connected to cable, satellite and IP television technologies. According to J'son & Partners Consulting forecasts, the growth of the subscriber base of pay television in Russia will continue, and by 2019 the number of subscribers will increase to 45.2 million households, and the penetration of pay television services will reach 81%.

More than half of the subscriber base is generated by the Volga and Central Federal Districts. In terms of the number of pay-TV subscribers, the Central Federal District is in the lead - 34% of the Russian market as a whole.

According to the results of 2014, the volume of the pay television market in Russia amounted to 66.5 billion rubles. The largest segment is cable television (32.5 billion rubles). Revenues from satellite broadcasting services reached 22.5 billion rubles, while revenues from IPTV operators approached 11.4 billion rubles.

According to the results of 2014, the largest players in the pay TV market in Russia are Tricolor TV (market share 29%), Rostelecom (21%), MTS (7%), ER-Telecom (7%) and Orion-Express (7%), the study also says.

iKS-Consulting

Compared to the same period in 2013, the number of Russian pay-TV subscribers increased by 7% and, according to the preliminary results of 2014, amounted to almost 37.5 million users. Service penetration was 67% Drivers of the growth of the steel market:

• Growth of the subscriber base of satellite operators, which were actively developing despite difficult economic conditions
• Increase in the number of subscribers from IPTV operators - first of all, from Rostelecom
• Average Subscriber Account (ARPU) Growth in IPTV and Digital CATV Segments

In 2014, an increase of 2% was shown by the largest segment of paid TV - cable television. The growth rate of cable TV is slowing, behind the satellite and IPTV.

It should be noted a noticeable shift towards increasing the share of digital cable TV. The number of digital KTV subscribers increased by 33% over the year, while the number of analog KTV subscribers decreased by 2%. Such an active growth of digital KTV is due to the efforts of ER-Telecom companies (which released a new set-top box this year and positions it as a competitive advantage), as well as Akado and MTS. These operators not only actively connect new subscribers, but also switch existing customers to digital TV, thus increasing the average check per consumer of the service.

Most of all, in absolute terms - more than 1.7 million - the number of paid satellite TV subscribers has increased. In a number of regions, satellite TV is the predominant technology - for example, in the Southern Federal District, its share is 83%. The IPTV segment became the market leader in terms of growth rates - the number of subscribers for this technology increased by 17% compared to 2013.

As a result, the market structure by technology has changed markedly over the year: The share of satellite TV increased by 1 percentage point, the share of IPTV - by 1 percentage point, the share of KTV decreased by 2 percentage points over the year.

In 2014, TOP-7 pay-TV operators with a subscriber base of over 1 million users had a market share of more than 77% of the total market. Among the peculiar "records" of the past year, the following results of the operators' activities should be noted:

• The growth of Orion-Express subscriber base amounted to 30% in relation to 2013, which is 4 times more than the average market growth rate. Such dynamics brought the company close to ER-Telecom and MTS
• MTS, which began to lose pay-TV subscribers in 2013, in 2014, on the contrary, entered positive dynamics and showed excellent growth rates in one of the most competitive markets in the country - Moscow (due to an increase in GPON penetration)
• NTV-Plus, which adjusted the trading offer at the end of 2013, continued to actively increase its subscriber base in 2014 (reaching almost a million subscriber base)

According to forecasts of iKS-Consulting, by the end of 2015, the pay TV market, despite the difficult economic situation, will continue to develop: the market volume will exceed 64 billion rubles, the number of subscribers will reach 38.8 million. The growth is primarily due to the fact that television remains a service available to the population, and in conditions of optimization of the family budget, Russians will rather refuse to go to the cinema or cafe.

TMT Consulting

The volume of the paid television market in Russia in 2014 increased by 6.1% and amounted to 57 billion rubles, the subscriber base of operators increased by 8.3%, to 37.8 million households, according to data presented in the report of TMT Consulting.

According to the company's analysts, the penetration of paid TV in Russia was 68%. In 2015, the market is projected to grow by 4.2%, to 59.4 billion rubles, and an increase in the subscriber base by 3.8%, to 39.2 million. Penetration of the service is expected to exceed 70%.

According to researchers, the composition of the largest players in 2014 has not changed. The first place is occupied by Tricolor TV with 29% of the market, the second - Rostelecom (21%). Also in the top five are MTS, ER-Telecom and Orion-Express, each with about 7%.

The report notes that MTS overcame the negative trend associated with the outflow of social package users in the process of transferring the company's networks to digital technologies, and for the first time in three years showed an increase in the subscriber base. Tricolor's growth rate decreased to 8% compared to 14% a year earlier. The growth of ER-Telecom has practically stopped due to the saturation of the markets of large cities where the operator operates. And the market leader in terms of revenue, Rostelecom continues to increase the number of IPTV subscribers through the construction of PON networks.

"Due to the outstripping growth of digital technologies, the market structure by subscribers has noticeably changed: the share of the largest segment - cable television, 81% of which are analog TV subscribers, decreased from 52% to 49%," TMT Consulting also reports. Satellite television occupies 39% of the market, IPTV - 12%.

At the same time, in the market structure by revenue, the share of cable TV is significantly higher (60%), which, according to researchers, is due to the low ARPU of the largest satellite TV operators. As a result of the introduction of new ARPU satellite TV tariffs by NTV Plus, it decreased by 21% over the year, which led to a reduction in the average account for the subscriber as a whole in the market to only 131 rubles. As a result, satellite TV now accounts for 23% of revenues, IPTV - 17%.

Among the main trends of 2015 in the pay TV market, analysts call the development of digital broadcasting. As expected, by the end of 2015, the channels of the first multiplex will be able to receive 97% of the Russian population, in connection with which a decrease in the growth of the satellite TV subscriber base is predicted, which was previously uncontested in a remote area.

In addition, experts expect outstripping growth in digital pay-TV technologies. The growth of analog cable TV has practically stopped, and since 2015 we can expect a reduction in this segment due to the migration of subscribers to digital TV offering more opportunities, the report says.

In addition, TMT Consulting predicts the spread of OTT video services. According to experts, the increase in Internet access speeds and the growing supply from OTT video service providers are leading to an increase in the popularity of the model of television and video viewing via the Internet.

Finally, analysts do not exclude that in connection with the ban on advertising on paid TV channels, which has entered into 2015, some of the channels operating according to the advertising model will close. Moreover, the overall negative impact of the current economic situation on the Russian pay TV market is expected. "In connection with the termination of a number of contracts with foreign copyright holders, we can expect a noticeable reduction in the volume of foreign content in the proposals of Russian operators," experts say.

2013

DISCOVERY Research Group

Four companies are engaged in the production of satellite antennas in Russia: AlMet, Siberian Antenna Plant, Russat, Prancor. According to the experts of DISCOVERY Research Group, the volume of the Russian satellite antenna market in 2013 amounted to 1.5 million units of products. Compared to 2012, the market volume has decreased. The share of imported products on the Russian market is no more than 15%. In 2013, according to an approximate estimate, approximately 0.3 million satellite antennas were imported to Russia.

The following manufacturers account for half of satellite antenna imports: Svec, Dolin Electronics, Variant, Openmax and Electronic Huba. The main supplier of satellite antennas to the Russian market is China, but in value terms there is a high share of the United States, from where powerful expensive antennas are brought to broadcast a television signal. The export of satellite antennas from Russia is insignificant - several hundred pieces. The only manufacturer of satellite receivers in Russia is the international company GS Group, which in 2012 entered the CIS market and in 2013 announced an increase in production capacity in Russia to meet demand both in the Russian market and abroad. In 2013, 3.1 million satellite receivers were produced in Russia, the annual growth rate over the past few years is 20%.

According to the experts of DISCOVERY Research Group, the volume of the Russian satellite receiver market in 2013 amounted to 6.5 million units of products. Compared to the previous year, the market volume increased by 6%. Imported products account for almost 50% of the Russian satellite receiver market. The main trends in the satellite receiver market are the growing demand for receivers that support the HD signal (here the widespread digitalization of the population has an impact, the growing interest of satellite television operators in the HD format - in 2014 Tricolor TV announced plans to replace old equipment with new HD receivers; conducting the first test shows in a more modern Ultra HD format); replacing the outdated MPEG-2 equipment with a more modern MPEG-4 (due to the transition to a new satellite in 2013, NTV-Plus began transferring its subscribers to new type receivers); miniaturization - reducing the size of satellite receivers; increased demand for hybrid satellite receivers capable of simultaneously providing along with television and other services (radio, Internet), as well as satellite receivers having a hard drive for recording ether. The Russian market for satellite antennas and receivers directly depends on the situation in the satellite television market. The key players in the Russian satellite television market are Tricolor TV (more than 80% of the satellite television market, uses the products of GS Group), Orion-Express, NTV-Plus, and Rainbow TV. The satellite television market in Russia has not yet been full, further growth is predicted, mainly due to the growth of new subscribers in the regions. In 2014, the launch of new satellites is expected to cover Siberia and the Far East.

J'son & Partners Consulting

According to J'son & Partners Consulting estimates, the Russian pay television market will continue to grow. In 2013, 35.1 million subscribers (households) used pay-TV services in Russia, which is 10% higher than in 2012. The penetration of pay-TV amounted to 64% in 2013.

In 2013, the volume of the pay TV market in Russia reached 57.1 billion rubles. ARPU of the market amounted to 136 rubles/month. The level of the highest penetration of pay television in Russia in 2013 was observed in the Northwestern Federal District - 80.4%. The minimum penetration in federal districts in the North Caucasus and Siberian federal districts is 47% and 41%, respectively.

The subscriber base of the pay TV market will be 40.9 million DH by 2018, which will exceed the subscriber base by 17% in 2013. The penetration of the service by 2018 will reach 75%. The average market growth rate (CAGR) in the period 2014-2018 will be 3%.

iKS-Consulting

The volume of the Russian pay TV market increased by 16% in 2013 and amounted to 54 billion rubles, according to the results of a new study by iKS-Consulting.

The subscriber base of paid television increased by 11% over the year and reached 34.6 million, thus, the penetration of the service amounted to 62%. It is noted that for the first time in 2013, the number of households connected to digital television (18.9 million or 34% of all Russian households) exceeded the number of analog subscribers.

The growth drivers of the market were: the growth of the subscriber base of the satellite operators Orion-Express and Tricolor TV; an increase in the number of subscribers from IPTV operators - primarily from Rostelecom; growth of the average subscriber account (ARPU) in the IPTV and digital CATV segments.

Among the factors that negatively affect the market are low prices for the service, especially in the satellite TV segment, as well as a shift in consumer interest towards OTT services.

In 2013, the growth of the cable television segment practically stopped. The subscriber base of cable operators grew by only 1.5% over the year. However, this was primarily due to a decrease in the number of analog TV subscribers from MTS. Other cable operators grew by an average of 5%.

It is worth noting a noticeable shift towards an increase in the share of digital cable TV - the number of subscribers "numbers" increased by 2 times over the year, while the number of subscribers of analog KTV decreased by 4%. As a result, the share of digital cable TV increased from 12% to 15%.

In absolute terms, the leader in growth is satellite TV (another 2.3 million paid subscribers are connected). In a number of regions, satellite TV is the predominant technology. So, in the Southern Federal District, its share is 71%. It is worth noting that if in 2012 the Orion Express subscriber base amounted to 1.05 million subscribers, then in 2013 there were 1.98 million. The rapid growth, according to iKS-Consulting analyst Elena Krylova, is explained by the fact that the operator reduced the subscription fee to 600 rubles per year, to the level of the price offered by Tricolor-TV, and sold equipment half the price.

But in terms of growth rates, the IPTV segment became the leader - the number of subscribers for this technology increased by 29% compared to 2012. Thus, the market structure by technology has changed over the past year. The share of satellite TV increased by 3%, the share of IPTV - by 2%, and the share of cable TV decreased by 5% over the year.

In 2013, 7 pay-TV operators had a market share of more than 5%. In terms of revenue, Rostelecom is significantly ahead of its competitors - the federal operator owns over a fifth of the market. The company "Tricolor TV," despite the leadership in subscribers (the operator accounts for 29% of Russian subscribers), the share in income is almost 1.6 times lower. This is due to the low cost of the operator's service - the average subscriber account (ARPU) leaves 67 rubles. The third largest operator MTS has been losing its market share for the third year in a row - back in 2010, the company occupied 14% of the market. This is due to a decrease in the number of analog TV subscribers due to the company's strategy for the development of digital television.

The spread in the penetration of services in federal districts remains significant - from 49% in the Far East to 80% in the Central Federal District, which includes Moscow, where, despite the fact that about 1 million households are already connected to two operators - Mostelecom and one of the digital TV operators - the growth of connections continues. Thus, according to the results of 2013, the number of subscribers in the capital increased by 6%. At the same time, 2/3 of the new connections fell on the satellite 'Tricolor TV'. The penetration of digital TV in Moscow at the end of the year was 36%.

Analysts at iKS-Consulting predict that in 2014 the pay TV market will grow by 10%, and the market volume will exceed 59 billion rubles. The subscriber base will grow by 5% and reach 36.2 million.

2012

According to J'son & Partners Consulting, the Russian pay TV market is one of the largest in the world: according to the results of 2012, it has 31.9 million households (DH) connected to cable, satellite and IP television technologies. According to J'son & Partners Consulting estimates, the growth of the pay television subscriber base will continue, and by 2017 the number of subscribers will increase to 40.2 million DH, and the penetration of the pay television service will reach 74%.

In a 2012 market study, J'son & Partners Consulting categorizes television users into the following categories:

• Pay TV subscribers are users of communication services for the purposes of television broadcasting, the supplier of which is an operator who provides the ability to watch a large number of mainly non-broadcast (paid) TV channels (more than 30).
• Subscribers of social small-channel television are users of communication services for television broadcasting purposes, the supplier of which is an independent city (rural) cable operator, which provides the ability to view a small number (less than 30) mainly on-air (free) TV channels (but not providing the ability to watch multi-channel television), the payment for the use of which is usually included (if any) into a single payment document and corresponds to tariffs for communication services for the distribution of all-Russian television and radio programs.
  • (Example: subscribers of Dolgoprudnensky Telecommunication Systems OJSC (Dolgoprudny), City Cable Network LLC (g. Samara), MP Ozerskoe Cable Television (Ozyory).

Subscribers of social small-channel TV do not belong to paid television according to the J'son & Partners Consulting methodology.

• Subscribers of free-to-air television are users of on-air analog television, as well as communication services for television broadcasting purposes, in which the user gets access to open TV channels without a subscription fee.

Pay-TV subscriber base, 2010-2012

At the end of 2012, the subscriber base of users of the pay-TV service in Russia amounted to 31.9 million DH, which is 11% higher than in 2011. The penetration of paid TV was 58%.

The largest growth of subscribers occurred in the segments of satellite TV and IPTV.

During the period 2011-2012 IPTV subscriber base increased 1.6 times. The growth rate of satellite television was 20% over the same period.

The growth of satellite TV was mainly due to the low cost of the service compared to other pay-TV technologies, as well as independence from fixed-line networks and availability throughout the country. The growth of satellite TV subscribers occurred mainly at the expense of the Tricolor TV operator. In 2012, the company connected 2.4 million new subscribers, increasing its base to 11.9 million households. J'son & Partners Consulting in the subscriber base of pay television takes into account only paying subscribers (see Methodology above), the increase in which the operator "Tricolor TV" in 2012 amounted to 1.4 million households (8.9 million paying subscribers in 2012 versus 7.5 million paying subscribers in 2011). In Russia as a whole, the satellite TV segment increased by 1.9 million households over the year, thus Tricolor TV's contribution to the segment's growth amounted to 74%.

The rapid growth of IPTV, in turn, was facilitated by the development of broadband access services: according to J'son & Partners Consulting estimates, at the end of 2012, broadband access reached 48%. One of the main advantages of IPTV is the ability to provide video-on-demand service and access interactive services. The leaders in the IPTV market are the operators Rostelecom, VimpelCom and MTS.

The growth rate of cable TV is slowing down. At the same time, an active transformation is taking place in the cable television segment, associated with the modernization of networks by operators and the transition to DVB-C technology, which allows you to provide a digital TV service with additional access to services such as video on demand, catch-up-TV and others.

Pay-TV market operators

According to the results of 2012, the largest players in the pay TV market in Russia are Tricolor TV (market share 28%), Rostelecom (21%), MTS (9%), ER-Telecom (7%) and AKADO (4%).

Tricolor's subscriber base increased by 19% in 2012 due to the company's high market activity in the market. In 2012, Tricolor TV connected foreign brands to TV channel packages, and also introduced the Tricolor TV HD multiplex in the first half of 2012. Tricolor TV offers its customers the lowest subscription fee - for an expanded package ("Optimum") - 50 rubles/month.

Pay TV Market Structure by Technology

In 2012, cable television accounted for more than half of the entire pay-TV market (57%), the figure decreased by 5 percentage points compared to 2011. The share of satellite television was 35%. IPTV's share rose to 8%.

Pay-TV markets in the regions

More than half of the subscriber base is generated by the Volga and Central Federal Districts. In terms of the number of pay-TV subscribers, the Central Federal District is in the lead - 35.5% of the Russian market as a whole.

The level of the highest penetration of pay television at the end of 2012 was observed in the Northwestern Federal District - 72.8%. The minimum penetration in the North Caucasus and Far Eastern federal districts is 29.4% and 27%, respectively.

In 2012, the distribution of the subscriber base by federal districts did not undergo significant changes.

Key Results and Trends of the Pay-TV Market

Results of the industry development in 2012:

• The growth rate of pay-TV subscribers in 2012 was 11% compared to 2011. According to J'son & Partners Consulting forecasts, the market is expected to slow down to 2.5% by 2017.
• The penetration of the pay-TV service in 2012 was 58%. Penetration is expected to reach 74% by 2017.
• Among all technologies, the largest growth rates are shown by the IPTV segment: the growth rate was 62% by 2011. The lowest growth rates are observed in the cable TV segment: the growth rate is 2%.
• The growth of the satellite TV market was 20% in 2012. The market leader in terms of the number of subscribers is the operator "Tricolor TV."

Industry trends in 2013-2017:

• The digital pay TV market in the context of all existing technologies will grow.
• The line of channels for operators will be expanded through HD packages and digital TV channels.
• As a result of the fact that video viewing via the Internet is in high demand among the population, increased competition from non-linear TV is expected, due to the increase in the penetration of the broadband access service.
• For the cable television market, there will be a decrease in growth rates in all regions of the Russian Federation.

2010

J’son & Partners

According to J'son & Partners Consulting, in 2010 the number of subscribers to pay television in the world amounted to 700 million subscribers, and by 2014 this figure will grow to 846 million households. Thus, the average growth will be about 4.7% per year.

The subscriber base of cable television, which occupies about 70% of the pay television market in the world, totaled 475 million households in 2009. Satellite television is the second largest market with a 25% share and a subscriber base of about 165 million households. It is followed by IPTV with a subscriber base of 35 million households and a 5% market share. According to forecasts of Western analysts, in 2010 revenues in this market will grow to $171 billion, and at the end of 2014 will amount to more than $222 billion.

According to iKS-Consulting estimates, by the end of 2010, the number of pay-TV users in Russia will reach 20.5 million (excluding subscribers of collective television reception systems (SCPT) and subscribers of packages containing only free channels). The market volume will exceed 33 billion rubles. The penetration of the service will be 40%.

The development of pay television markets in the post-Soviet space is taking place at different rates, while analyzing the trends of these markets, you can divide them into 4 categories according to the territorial basis:

• Baltic States (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia),
• countries of the European part of the CIS (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova),
• Transcaucasian CIS countries (Azerbaijan, Georgia, which is a former CIS country),
• countries of the Central Asian part of the CIS (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan).

According to the results of 2009, the total share of the pay television market of the CIS and the Baltic countries amounted to about 1% of the global pay TV market. The total number of subscribers reached more than 6 million households. A significant market share (63%) is occupied by the countries of the European part of the CIS (Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova).

Total subscriber base of pay-TV service in 2009. in the Baltic countries exceeded 1.3 million connected households, with Lithuania's share in the total subscriber base being 39% and Estonia's share 27%. The remaining 34% fell on the Latvian market. Subscriber base of the pay TV service in the European part of the CIS in 2009. exceeded 3.7 million connected households.

Experts assess the subscriber base of the pay television service in the Transcaucasian part of the CIS at the end of 2010. 1 million subscribers.

The total subscriber base of the Central Asian region according to the results of 2010. exceeded 1.5 million connected households, most of which (60%) belong to the Kazakhstan market. Kyrgyzstan's share in the subscriber base of the region was 5%.

2007

The first satellite antennas appeared in Russia in the late 90s, then offshore antennas made of metal were the most popular, then Chinese antennas made of cheap and thin metal entered the market, and transparent antennas also appeared. But neither of them in Russia took root due to their poor quality and their short-lived. The situation changed in 2007, when glass fiber satellite antennas appeared on the Russian market.

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