And the channels look where they need to – Newspaper Kommersant No. 207 (7408) dated 11/09/2022

Against the backdrop of the withdrawal from the Russian Federation of foreign TV channels Discovery, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon and other Russian pay TV operators are actively creating alternatives. MTS is launching channels with content for families and detectives, Tricolor has launched channels for children and horror films, and Media Telecom (a joint venture of Rostelecom and NMG) with Turkish and Asian series and programs about wildlife. But, experts emphasize, it is difficult to replace the departed channels in terms of content quality, and the audience has recently “generally watched the news more”.

MTS will launch two new channels of its own production, the company told Kommersant: FamilyJam, focused on family viewing, and DetectiveJam with Russian and foreign detective series. The channels will be available to users of home and satellite TV from MTS, as well as the Kion online cinema. An interlocutor close to MTS says that most of all had to be spent on content purchases, since we are talking about acquiring terrestrial TV channel content, and not the rights to online video broadcasting. First, the channels will be rotated on the air of MTS, and then monetized through distribution among other operators. MTS launched the first TV channels of its own production KinoJam 1, KinoJam 2 and Kion Hit at the end of 2020.

In recent months, other pay TV operators have also announced new themed TV channels. On June 1, Tricolor launched the children’s TV channel Tricolor for Children, on August 19 – “Criminal” with “classics of Russian true crime”, and on October 31 – Scream, the airtime schedule of which consists of films of American, European and Asian production in the “horror” genres and “mystic”. In October, Media Telecom announced the launch of three TV channels: female-oriented Sapphire with Turkish series, Kineko with Asian and educational Terra (wildlife, travel, science and technology, etc.). They will be distributed through Rostelecom’s Wink video service and through other TV operators.

The launch of new channels has become relevant against the background of the departure of foreign ones from Russia, experts and market participants explain. According to Mediascope, about 10% of the thematic TV audience was accounted for by TV channels that left the market: these statistics take into account the Media Alliance channels that stopped broadcasting in the Russian Federation on March 10 (Discovery, Animal Planet, Eurosport, etc.), and Viacom, which left the market. from April 29 (Nickelodeon, MTV, Paramount Comedy). Due to the lack of foreign TV channels and the decrease in the solvency of subscribers, the pay TV market will stagnate in 2022 and show growth of only 2%, predicted in TMT Consulting (see Kommersant dated May 26).

In general, the volume of foreign content in the Russian Federation has decreased by 30–50% since the beginning of the year, and operators are trying to retain a solvent audience, says Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily: “Obviously, the trend will continue and we will see many more similar channel launches.” Orion Group Content Director Svetlana Borisova clarified that the growing trend has actually existed for several years. Initially, the expert explains, it was caused by the saturation of the pay TV market, in which niche TV channels “create new anchors to attract various consumer groups.”

At the end of 2022, the pay TV market will miss about 45 TV channels, Alexander Kosarim, director of content policy at Rostelecom, clarified: “Many niches have been vacated, but the demand of viewers has not gone away.” The amount of investment in such projects depends on the type of content, he notes, but “in any case, this is a significant investment in advance, for years to come.” At the same time, it is “extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible, to fully replace the departed foreign TV channels, in addition to the popular brand, they also have their own unique content,” notes Ivan Shevchenko, an expert in purchasing content from Movix: “Possible Asian and South American alternatives have their own specifics, which is not always close to the mass consumer in the Russian Federation.

Another interlocutor in the media market says that interest in thematic TV channels with library content has fallen, because “everyone watches the news.” This is confirmed by Mediascope data, according to which the contribution of serial content and entertainment programs in the first half of the year to total TV viewing decreased by 15% and 22%, respectively, while the contribution of news and socio-political programs increased by 49% and 88%.

Valeria Lebedeva