In early January, the market has discussed prospects of development of the movie industry for the Hollywood studios in Russia. It was argued that “new taxes, a hostile television market and the local oligarch seeking to resist the studios, are among the challenges awaiting the industry in the new year”. More information can be found in the article “THREE MAIN PROBLEMS of HOLLYWOOD FOR doing BUSINESS IN RUSSIA IN 2018”.

Andrey Gromkovskiy, managing Director of digital video distribution of “20 Century Fox” in Russia, commented on the situation for RUVOD, and outlined what opportunities await Russian market and what are the plans for 2018:

“We look at the future with optimism, the Russian VOD market is growing double-digit pace and any restrictions on foreign content in other areas (such as cinema or television distribution) will only increase the demand for production of studios to digital platforms, we serve. We crossed the line at 25% penetration of SMART TV households in Russia and this figure will increase even more when the fans want to watch the world Cup this year. Fox have a very impressive package of films-prize-winners this year, and we hope that these more mature and delicate films fit better than ever to the home audience. All these factors allow us to say that with the release of new players on the market launching their digital video platforms, our content will find new distribution channels and opportunities for synergies with cinema and television distribution”.