Sergey Polovnikov, head of Content Review portal, talks about the fate of online movie cinemas in Russia.

Recently CSTB forum took place, which since long time can be called not a forum but vanity fair. Those who are richer compete in the size of the stands. Other, poorer, barely find money to win meaningless awards. But there is another category: companies, which from year to year are waiting when someone buys them. Of course, I mean Internet cinemas.

One episode pops up in memory. November 2008, there is a revival on the sidelines of the VAS Forum conference. There was a rumor that Google is going to spend crazy money to buy companies involved in mobile advertising. In Russia in that time only lazy was not engaged in mobile advertising. Some companies have already bought large grounds, other – have aggregated small publishers. And everyone was waiting for Google to come and buy them. That didn`t happen. In 2010 Google purchased Admob for a crazy $750 million, and stopped. Russian mobile advertising agencies have lived for some time more, but in the end they disappear. As well as “mobile advertising” term.

Russian Internet cinemas exist in the same picture of the world. None of them is in the green zone of profitability, although the majority stated that the payback point has long passed. No one has a library of content that can be called unique. Even TNT which is popular among ordinary viewers has more content that ivi or Okko.

In “Waiting for Godot” play Didi and Gogo spend their lives in the same point, being in permanent expectation of a Godot. When will Godot come? Godot will come tomorrow. Next day comes and it turns out, that Godot will come tomorrow. It is the circle. Internet-cinemas — are those Didi and Gogo, who are endlessly waiting for the arrival of Netflix, or at least Amazon, who, like Godot, will bring some meaning to their existence. More precisely, cash out. After all, “Skartel” succeed in making from scratch a billion dollar from “MegaFon”. It’s worth it.

Unfortunately, for Russian Internet cinemas, this expectation will end in nothing. Netflix is already working in Russia, in a limited mode. Instead of buying local players, it simply collects their users. Netflix has original “House of Cards” and “Orange is the new Black”, “Black Mirror” and” Stranger things”. Yes, there are no Russian audio tracks to the majority of series and movies. But I am sure it is not a bid secret: Netflix is negotiating with pirated release groups to purchase translations and voice-over video content. Why? Because, unlike the Internet-cinemas, pirate release groups are sharp: as soon as the movie appears on the network – translation and voice-over are ready. Without forums and conferences.

I dissemble a little when I say: “no one needs Russian Internet cinemas”. Of course, they are needed. Almost one hundred people works in each of them, programmers write some platforms, lawyers sign contracts with rights owners, management finds fools with money ready to invest in the project which “Netflix is about to buy”. These are hundreds, thousands of jobs. But I’m talking about the audience, of course. It is easier for them to go Smart TV application from TNT and STS, and watch favorite TV series without registration and SMS for free. Without any of these annoying interruptions on the same advertising, without trash, which are the interfaces of all Internet cinemas with no exception.

While some are just trying to brag about having a dozen films in UHD-quality, Netflix shoots all its series in 4K (and some even with HDR), constantly adds films to its library for “third countries” (whom we are so far) and gaining really paying users.

For some reason, in Russian mysterious soul there is still a confidence that we easily fool any foreigner. But life puts everything in its place. Evil tongues say that one “leader” can`t find new investments (old are finished) for more than a year. The second “leader “lives only the money of “mommy”. The rest are making interesting contracts with large corporations, which for a mile away looks like money cut.

As you know, in our country movies are making not in order to earn on its release in cinemas. All profits are already made in the process of creating a movie. It doesn`t bother anyone if the movie will collect something or not. It is not surprising that Internet cinemas do exactly the same.

SOURCE: TELESPUTNIK