Gazprom-Media Holding retained its leadership in terms of TV audience share at the end of 2023
Gazprom-Media Holding sums up the results of its work in TV viewing, content distribution and development of digital services for 2023.
2023 was full of significant events for the company. In addition to the 25th anniversary of the holding company, we celebrated the anniversaries of a number of our assets. We continue to focus on producing and distributing our own original content across all mediums. Our digital platforms show outstanding results in terms of audience growth, facilitated by the integration of resources within the holding company. Synergy is definitely the future! At the end of 2023, the holding acquired a controlling stake in Russia’s largest blogging agency, Insight People production center, a deal that will strengthen our leadership in all media segments. We have entered into a number of important strategic overseas partnerships, including colleagues in the UAE, and we plan to expand our cooperation with friendly nations. I am proud of Gazprom-Media Holding’s talented and enthusiastic team, which is keeping up the pace, confidently moving forward year after year, meeting the most ambitious objectives, setting new professional records, shaping trends and ultimately making the media industry better and more diverse.
Aleksandr ZharovCEO of Gazprom-Media Holding
TV viewing leader
Gazprom-Media Holding continues to lead in terms of the share of the most attractive TV audience for advertisers, aged 14–44. In 2023, it was 24.8%*. Leadership is ensured thanks to production of own content, which is in demand among viewers and advertisers. The holding company also adapts foreign formats and launches sequels to projects already loved by viewers.
Leader in movie content distribution in Russia
Gazprom-Media Holding continues to lead in film content distribution in Russia. In 2023, Central Partnership released 35 films, 23 of which were produced in Russia. A total of more than 45 million viewers watched the films. To date, the share of Central Partnership’s box office receipts in Russia exceeds 38%**.
Cheburashka, released in January, was the highest-grossing domestic film in the history of Russian distribution, earning RUB 6.787 billion. According to the Unified Federal Automated Information System, the highest-grossing domestic films in 2023 also included the first feature film The Challenge, shot on board the International Space Station. Central Partnership was the distributor of both films.
Focus on digital—a time of cooperation and collaboration
PREMIER online cinema
In 2023, Gazprom-Media Holding actively developed digital platforms. By the end of the year, the number of paying subscribers to PREMIER online cinema grew by 33% compared to the previous year, reaching 4.8 million users. This growth was made possible by the active development of service and product technologies, as well as by the release of original content. In 2023, PREMIER released a total of 65 original projects, including TV series created jointly with Gazprom-Media Holding’s TV channels and documentary projects.
In 2024, PREMIER will focus on increasing subscriber loyalty and increasing time spent on the video service.
RUTUBE national video hosting
RUTUBE’s daily audience exceeded 5 million people, and a total of 81 million people used the service during the year. At the end of December, the average monthly audience reached 41.7 million***.
Significant growth of the loyal audience base was possible thanks to an increase in the amount of own and licensed content, cooperation with TV channels, infrastructure development and product improvement, as well as collaborating with the holding company’s digital platforms. In December this year, the RUTUBE platform launched the capability of broadcasting short videos from the Yappy platform. In this way, Yappy bloggers expand their audience, and RUTUBE users receive new content filmed in one of the most popular formats.
In 2023, the national video host produced more than 70 original projects and became the main showcase for all TV channels. The results were achieved through the use of technology to speed up production, partnerships with production studios, and a range of other improvements.
In 2024, the RUTUBE team will continue to develop the product, create new content, and strengthen the site’s security.
Yappy vertical video app
Partnership with Russia’s largest blogger agency, Insight People, which joined Gazprom-Media Holding in November 2023, has provided an impetus for creating new quality content and promoting it. Currently, more than 2,000 Insight People bloggers launch trends in Yappy across Russia. During 2023, more than 250,000 pieces of content in 30 categories were uploaded to the platform, from humor to science pop. In addition, together with Yappy, residents participated in more than 30 creative projects.
Currently, the volume of uploaded content on the platform exceeds 15 million videos. The growth of the app’s library for the year was 150% compared to the previous year.
D.lab — digital laboratory
Gazprom-Media Holding is strengthening its technological focus, including its own solutions using artificial intelligence. Neural networks are already involved in more than 80% of the creation of various content in new formats. This year, D.lab neuroproduction studio, which Gazprom-Media Holding launched in September 2023, presented the first demos of AIGC, multimedia content produced by artificial intelligence with minimal human participation based on the lab’s own solution. The studio has now moved on to testing its developments on the holding companies’ projects—GPM Radio, RUTUBE, PREMIER, and Yappy.
D.lab solutions make it possible to reduce the cost of individual production processes to a third and fulfill them in hours or days, rather than months and years. D.lab is preparing to offer its solutions to the market.
*Mediascope, Russia 100+, viewers 14–44 years old, January 1—December 19, 2023
**Byulleten kinoprokatchika, rating of distributor competition in Russia by cinema distribution in 2023
