Gazprom Media and its subsidiary TNT, a Russian television channel, yesterday launched a paid, video-content website named Now.ru.
Sony Pictures, Disney, Warner Brothers, Lions Gate, Nickelodeon, MTV Networks, BBC and Playboy Enterprises will provide the portal with top content.
In addition, some TNT programs will appear on the site before being shown on TV.
For a fixed monthly fee of 499 rubles (approximately $17), users will be able to view an unlimited number of movies, documentaries, serials and cartoons, with the exception of new content, for which users will have to pay an “additional, but reasonable fee,” reports Russian business daily Vedomosti, quoting unnamed sources at Gazprom Media.
The project has cost approximately $10 million, a large part of it going towards acquiring content rights.
Now.ru aims to create a “non-linear online entertainment video portal capable of competing with classic TV channels in terms of audience,” according to the site.
Gazprom-Media is a prominent Russian media group holding stakes in a variety of TV, radio, film production, Internet, publishing and advertising companies.
Source: RBC Daily
