Pirates lost at the casino – Kommersant

The volume of the market of pirated video services in the Russian Federation in 2023 will be reduced by more than 10%, to $40 million, FAC.С.T. expects. (former Group-IB). At the end of last year, the segment has already lost about the same 10% of revenue, the average cost of displaying ads on resources has fallen by 18%, and the number of sites has decreased by more than 40%. According to analysts, the indicators were affected by the exit from the market of a number of bookmakers, who mainly acted as advertisers of pirate sites, as well as difficulties with organizing cash settlements. However, legal resources have similar problems and trends, and pirates are already finding new sources of income.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the study FAC.С.T. (former Group-IB), dedicated to the market of online piracy (illegal distribution of video content) in Russia in 2022, as well as with a forecast for 2023. The document notes that the volume of the pirate market is falling. Over the past year, it lost 10% of its income, amounting to $45 million. By the end of 2023, a decrease to $40 million can be expected, FAC.С.T experts believe.

They specify that the main sources of income for online pirates are still advertising of online casinos and bookmakers. However, due to the departure of several bookmakers from the Russian market last year, for example, the international brand Bet365, GG.Bet, as well as difficulties with financial transfers between countries, the average CPM (Cost Per Mille; cost per 1,000 impressions in the advertising campaign ) on pirated resources fell by 18%, explains the business development director of Digital Risk Protection FAC.C.T. Stanislav Goncharov. The number of pirated pages with Russian-language video content detected by the company in 2022 decreased by 42.2%, to 119.4 thousand.

According to FAC.C.T., according to the results of January-April 2023, James Cameron’s sequel “Avatar: The Way of the Water” became the most popular film among pirates, in second place – “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania”, in third – ” Swindlers.” At the same time, for the first time, the share of mobile traffic on pirated resources in 2022 reached 60% — illegal content is watched more from smartphones than from computers. The popularity of apps for Android and Windows that allow you to watch pirated content on mobile devices began to grow in mid-2022 (see Kommersant dated August 1, 2022).

At the same time, Timofey Los, director of business development at NMi Group, clarifies that the traffic of legal and pirate sites grew almost equally in 2022, by 39% and 36%, respectively, and “advertising decreased not only on pirate sites, but in general” . Pirate services mainly receive advertising income from the promotion of tobacco products, alcohol, crypto, says Evgeny Chuvashov, digital director of the Igronik group.

One of the options for generating non-advertising revenue for pirated services is a subscription, which some already have and will gain momentum in the future, the expert believes. The Kino.pub video service, which was added back in October 2017 by a court decision to the register of prohibited ones, for example, has already introduced a subscription: a month of paid access costs 150 rubles, three months – 400 rubles, six months – 700 rubles, Kommersant found out.

But the pirates also have new sources of income, adds Mark Khludnev, founder of the Digital Church advertising agency, since “Russian brands have lost a significant part of their advertising tools.” So, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, YouTube, Google Ads, Instagram, Facebook (owned by Meta, whose activities in managing Instagram and Facebook in the Russian Federation were recognized as extremist and banned) left the country. “In contextual and targeted advertising, competition has greatly increased, and many have begun to use pirated resources – now you can see ads on them, for example, a manufacturer of meat, clothing and dishes,” says Mark Khludnev.

How this trend will be long-term and pronounced, opinions differ. Advertising on illegal resources creates reputational and legal risks, large advertisers will not agree to this, notes Timofey Los. He believes that after the introduction of labeling of online advertising in the Russian Federation since last autumn, its volume on pirate sites will continue to fall.

Tatyana Isakova, Yulia Yurasova