Alexei Volin, Deputy Minister of Communications and Mass Media, in his recent speech outlined the main perspectives of the development of the telecommunications industry and TV broadcasting in Russia for the period up to 2025.
According to the relevant ministry’s strategy, during this period the Russian audience should be able to receive television content by all existing means and on any device, i.e. terrestrial, cable, satellite broadcasting, IPTV and mobile communications.
The terrestrial TV will cease occupying a dominant position. The Deputy Minister emphasized that over 50% of audience actually prefer receiving TV signal via cable, satellite and internet networks. In future, this percentage will only grow, and this will be largely contributed by the program on laying fiber optic networks in small communities.
The digital TV in Russia will still go on expanding and developing in future. The Ministry stresses that the number of public digital TV channels, which are actually 10 in Russia, will increase up to 20 by 2025.
The HD-format for terrestrial broadcasting of channels of the 1st and 2nd multiplexes will become available in Russia by 2021. 2019 will be the year of starting activities to arrange the transition of terrestrial broadcasting to the high-definition format.
According to Alexei Volin, the strategy does not provide for analog shut-off. He points out that the analog broadcasting will retreat in a natural way, because of becoming economically irrational. In 2019, the government will suspend subsidizing the analog broadcasting in the communities with fewer than 100 thousand residents. This would invoke withdrawal of analog broadcasting of the largest TV channels and, consequently, increased service prices.
In his speech, the Deputy Minister also states that in order to launch another multiplex, the third one, the government does not actually have any sufficient economic opportunity.
