US video streaming service Netflix will start operations in Russia imminently, along with other countries, Russian newspaper Izvestia reported yesterday, citing industry and media sources.
At first, Netflix will work with traditional television providers and Smart TV — which was confirmed by a Russian representative of LG.
According to TNS Global, the Russian Smart TV audience reaches 6.9 million users (approximately 10% of Russia’s total Internet audience), up 32% in one year.
Another partner of Netflix in Russia is said to be Rostelecom, the national telecom operator. Starting from January 2016, the American service will be made accessible to Rostelecom customers. The operator, however, declined to confirm or comment on the news.
A few local online video streaming companies use a subscription model similar to that of Netfix. Among them are Amedia TV, Ivi+ and Tvzavr — but the positioning of these players may differ significantly.
Netflix has been considering entering the Russian market for years, as reported already by East-West Digital News. Hulu.com has also explored the potential of the Russian market — without actually moving outside the US market so far.
Update Jan. 7, 2016
Last week Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings confirmed in his CES keynote in Las Vegas that the company had started activities in 130 new countries, including Russia, Azerbaijan, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey and Vietnam — but not China. In total, Netflix added more than 130 countries to its previous roster of around 60.
