Vidimax

Vidimax is the Russian company, creates open system for the publication and distribution of license video content on access networks in the Internet. According to developers, a system is unique for the Russian market.

Shareholders

Controlling stake - venture fund of Tatarstan under control of Troika Dialog.

Financing

In September, 2009 the company received investments in the amount of $4.25 million from venture fund of Tatarstan under control of Troika Dialog. The means invested by Troika Dialog will go for completion of development of the platform and start of service in commercial operation which is planned for spring of 2010. In exchange for investments Three received control in a startup. The amount invested by Three in Vidimax is quite adequate, Dmitry Vasyutinsky, the managing director of venture funds "considers Allianz of ROSNO Asset management". To a third of this amount, according to him, can leave on promotion of service.

Products & Services

The Vidimax platform will give to the owner of video content direct access to the end consumer through network of Internet service provider. The owner will be able to monitor number of watchings its movies or real-time transmissions, to collect statistics on quantity and geography of viewings. The Internet service provider working with Vidimax will receive 25% of assignments of income gained from the end user. This practice, according to Svetlana Belova, is given already a dry run. Vidimax will receive about 20%, and more than 50% - will leave to the owner.

"At Internet service providers at such model need to do warranty prepayment to owners disappears, - Belova says. – This prepayment is an income guarantee for the owner, but not always provides profitability of provider. In our case calculation happens upon viewings".

The user of the Vidimax system, in turn, will receive a wide choice of video and other media services (personal recommendations, convenient navigation about the menu of the TV, a preview and responses about content) in desirable quality at any time, including – in a format of the high definition (Full HD), promise in the company.

Similar Vidimax the project – Vudu in 2007 was started in the North American market and already won wide popularity, the director of venture funds of Troika Dialog Artem Yukhin reminds. "In Russia where already more than 9 million households are connected to the Internet, and infrastructure remains a serious problem, at the Vidimax technology which is not depending on bandwidth and quality of distribution networks, big perspectives", - he considers.

Responses of potential clients

Internet service providers with interest apprehended the idea of Vidimax, but consider that generally the service will be in demand for small regional providers. "As for large Internetoperators of double-play (the Internet + TV, - a comment of CNews), including us, it can be interesting only in terms of formation of certain premium packets", - Dmitry Bagdasaryan, the commercial director Comstar Regions says CNews.

Svetlana Belova agrees that regional Internet service providers will become primary clients of Vidimax: "We received some komitment from operators, in particular from SZT and several home networks which customer bases - about 30-40 thousand subscribers". According to the representative of Akado Dmitry Zakharov, the Vidimax model is interesting to regions, but the company should create under itself the new market, advancing the idea of purchase of movies on the Internet. Now, by its estimates, only about 10% of subscribers of Internet service providers on demand use service of video. Dmitry Vasyutinsky estimates this indicator at the level from 5% to 15% in different regions.

"Our company offers the audience of 185 channels and has well established relations with owners and also already performed investments into the specialized equipment, - Zakharov says. - Therefore we, as well as to many other large operators, do not need the intermediary during the work with owners". Besides, according to him, in 2010 Akado is going to start own service of video on demand.

History

2008

Vidimax was founded by Svetlana Belova and Pavel Rebrov, system development began. Before the investment attraction the system prototype was developed. Belova took managerial positions earlier in Akado, MTU Intel (since 2006 - Comstar-Direkt, renders services under the Stream brand) and headed Netvil company (buys video content and offers it to consumers through Internet service providers). Pavel Rebrov to Vidimax directed the Video over IP direction in CTI company, and then was the business development manager at the Russian office Cisco where IPTV was engaged.