Play’s turnover increased from 23 million Rubles in 2012 to 259 million Rubles in 2013, growing 11-fold in value and 14-fold in purchasing volume. By the beginning of 2014, the company’s monthly customer base comprised 100,000 premium users, half of whom were regular customers. The total number of service users exceeded 500,000 people and more than 5 million devices are now registered in video service.
In January 2014, Play’s turnover was equal to 60 million Rubles and its transactional product passed the operational break-even point, proving that its monetization model works and the business is sustainable.
The iKS Consulting report on the company’s revenue showed that, with 72% market share, Play has become the leader in the premium video service segment. Moreover, Play is growing at more than double the average market rate.
80 % of total views on Play is made using Smart TV platform which brings more than 90 % of the total revenue for the service. Mobile applications (more than 3 million uploads from both the Apple AppStore and Google Play) are used as a helpful companion app that allows previously purchased movies to be downloaded and watched off-line.
Play has the best film and series collection in Russia, containing more than 4,500 titles to download. In 2013, Play broke new ground in the legal on-line video segment by making it possible to watch new films that had only just appeared in cinemas. Since May 2013, approximately 40 movies have been made available on Play with only a 2-4 week time lag.
“Our partnership with Play got off to a great start: we released “To play thruth” and continued our collaboration with the successful premiere of the comedy “Gorko!” During the first weekend, more than 20,000 users watched this movie. As movie makers, we are highly satisfied with this result. The channel’s safety gives us an opportunity to release movies shortly after they have premiered. In 2014, we began our collaboration on the “Elki 3” release and we are going to continue working together with new projects planned for this year” – stated Timur Bekmambetov, producer, film director and founder of the Bazelevs Group.
In December 2013, Play became the first Russian partner of Dolby Laboratories in the on-line video service segment and gave users the opportunity to enjoy Full HD video with Dolby Digital Plus sound. Moreover, responding to consumers’ desires and needs, Play introduced the opportunity to watch movies and series with optional sound track (original or dubbed) and subtitles.
“We are extremely satisfied with the company’s results in 2013 and we are going to maintain our leading position in the legal on-line video market in Russia. We are glad that the monetization model we have chosen has proved to be sustainable and has helped the service to develop quickly, offering the most recent quality content for our users to enjoy. We believe that it is the mission of the Smart TV platform to transform the way in which video is consumed. We think that this new, easy, safe, and user-friendly method will replace DVD, Internet videos and traditional TV broadcasting. Our mission is to give new meaning to TV and to regain the trust of those users who discarded it” – commented Leonid Belyaev, CEO of Play.
