Russia takes to HD

Demand for HD is growing rapidly in Russia, with 10.2 million homes already receiving services as of the beginning of this year.

Quoting J’son & Partners,Vedomosti reports that while the number of pay-TV subscribers grew by only 7.1% to 36.7 million in 2014, HD penetration in the pay-TV subscriber base increased from 20.2% to 27.1% during the year.

Tricolor TV remained the leading provider of HD services in Russia, claiming a 45% share of the market as of the beginning of this year. Rostelecom was in second place with 25%, followed by Vimpelcom with 10%.

Meanwhile, other statistics, produced by Telecom Daily, give Tricolor TV a 41% share, with Rostelecom and MTS claiming 25% and 11.5% respectively as of the beginning of the second quarter.

They also say that as of Q1, there were already 12 million HDTV subscribers in the country, up from 9.9 million a year earlier.