The operator will begin testing the digital platform.

Largest Russian operator digital television "Tricolor TV" in 2017 adopted a new development strategy, implying a transition from a linear TV operator to a digital lifestyle operator. The largest Russian digital television operator, Tricolor TV, adopted a new development strategy in 2017, implying a transition from a linear TV operator to a digital lifestyle operator and confirmed its leading position in the pay TV market, showing strong financial results at the end of the year: revenue exceeded 19 billion rubles ., ARPU - 1,565 rub. per year. The subscriber base at the end of the year was 12.28 million households.

Tricolor TV continues to demonstrate high growth rates of financial indicators. Over the past few years, the operator has almost doubled its revenue - from 10.4 billion rubles. in 2014 to 19.1 billion rubles. in 2017. Annual revenue growth was 7%, ARPU increased by 70 rubles. and reached the level of 1565 rubles. per year. These indicators correspond to the operator’s plans for 2017.

From January 1 to December 31, 2017, the number of Tricolor TV digital television subscribers increased by 140,000 households: from 12.14 to 12.28 million Russian families. The number of HD subscribers reached 78% of common base subscribers - 9.6 million households (annual growth was 13%). In the structure of new connections, HD subscribers make up 100%.

Alexey Kholodov, general manager: “The Russian pay TV market has been demonstrating a slowdown in the growth rate of new connections over the past few quarters. This is a normal and natural situation for a saturated market. Further development will be associated primarily with the growth of financial indicators, including through the expansion of the product line and the introduction of new digital services, as well as through entering adjacent markets. The leader is the operator that offers a comprehensive digital product that satisfies basic needs modern man living in digital world. Last year, we began the transition from a linear TV operator to a digital lifestyle operator by launching Far East a new comprehensive digital service. In 2018, we will continue to test new products, building a sought-after high-tech and modern digital offer.”

Changing the content consumption model, as well as the transfer of basic communications to the digital environment formed the basis new paradigm development of Tricolor TV. In 2017, the company began transforming its business model: from a linear TV operator to a multi-platform and multi-medium digital lifestyle operator. The main product is becoming a unified set of digital services, including television viewing. Tricolor TV is forming a new Russian market type of operator that takes into account the main trends in the development of the industry and meets the needs of modern consumers.

Continuing to improve its television product, Tricolor TV in 2017 introduced the market to a comprehensive digital service, to which residents of the Far Eastern Federal District were the first to gain access. Exit to new market made the services of high-quality modern digital television from the Russian market leader Pay TV available throughout the country.

By developing non-linear television viewing, Tricolor TV takes into account the uneven penetration of the Internet in the regions of Russia and effectively uses the advantages satellite technology, offering subscribers a full range of non-linear services without the need to connect to the Internet, and also successfully solves the problem of creating hybrid products. In 2017, the operator introduced a unique recommendation service “Best on TV”, which does not require access to the Internet, broadcast management services “Telearchive” and “Watch from the beginning”. In addition, the operator launched Online TV, providing subscribers with the opportunity to watch about 200 TV channels via the Internet. At the end of 2017, access to this service Tricolor TV already has 3 million subscribers, and the Kinozaly service (viewing content in video-on-demand format) has 7 million Russian families.

In 2017, Tricolor TV continued to improve the quality of the signal and television image, including using modern technology HEVC video compression, which allows more efficient use of satellite capacity without loss of television image quality, which is especially important for the development Ultra format HD. Over the year, the HEVC subscriber base has doubled to 2.9 million households. The operator is also improving its UHD offering. Now Tricolor TV offers six UHD TV channels - this is the most large number TV channels in ultra-high definition format available to Russian viewers.

Implementing new approaches to business development strategy, in 2017 Tricolor TV offered its subscribers the opportunity to connect to unlimited high-speed satellite Internet. An unprecedented action for our country accelerated the development of the Russian satellite Internet market and allowed the operator to occupy 7% of the market since the launch of the service in 2016.

The B2B segment became an important area of the operator’s work in 2017. Flexible, personalized customer service policy, improvement package offer, including the launch of a package of sports TV channels, as well as the formation of a flexible tariff schedule For corporate users, Satellite Internet services allowed Tricolor TV to more than double the number of B2B subscribers. In partnership with the operator Eutelsat, a unique service “Territory “Tricolor TV” was launched. Corporate clients operators were given the opportunity to organize free access zones on their territory to view popular Tricolor TV channels on mobile devices.

The transition of Tricolor TV from a linear television operator to a digital lifestyle operator involves the launch in 2018 of a large-scale platform that gives users access to various digital services, non-television services and entertainment, improvement of the product line, interactive and hybrid services, and introduction of technology smart home, as well as further expansion of activities in accordance with the new company strategy.

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The largest Russian digital television operator, Tricolor TV, announces its decision to enter the Far East market. Residents of the region will be the first to appreciate the high-tech product developed by the operator as part of the implementation of the new strategy.

General Director of Tricolor TV Alexey Kholodov (right) and Deputy General Director for Development of Nonlinear Services Andrey Kholodny

Leader of the Russian market pay television « Tricolor TV"becomes a digital lifestyle operator. The operator will create a unified digital space of entertainment and services for the whole family, access to which will be possible from any device, in any place and time. "Tricolor TV" from a closed ecosystem will become a large-scale platform that will give users access to a number of different digital services and services (regardless of who provides them). Thus, the operator’s new strategy meets trends and allows for the formation of new models of consumption of digital services through a wide range of non-linear services.

The new development strategy is based on an analysis of changes in consumer preferences of the operator’s subscribers, new model behavior modern user digital services, as well as trends in accelerating the process of transferring communications to the digital environment. The new strategy involves the company going beyond the mono-product business model and starting work in new market segments.

As part of the implementation of the new strategy, Tricolor TV will carry out a rebranding. A world-famous artist has been involved in the project, main task which consists in creating a new visual concept of the company, taking into account modern principles digital lifestyle. The main product will not be packages of TV channels, but a complex of digital services united under the common brand “Tricolor”.

This year, the operator has already introduced a number of non-linear services to the market as part of the implementation of the new strategy. However, the first to appreciate the benefits of the new comprehensive service “Tricolor TV”, which opens up access to high-quality television viewing in all digital environments, will be residents of the Far Eastern Federal District, where the new concept will be deployed in pilot mode.

The Tricolor TV offer will include more than 230 television and radio channels, available to subscribers operator via satellite and Internet channels, as well as a whole series non-linear services that allow you to manage your TV viewing and provide access to non-linear viewing of TV content and new cinema products in the video-on-demand format. Thus, subscribers in the Far Eastern region will have access to the new flagship service “Best on TV”, thanks to which you can view TV content conveniently organized by genre in a non-linear mode - popular programs, movies and shows from TV channels available on the Tricolor TV platform, as well as the video-on-demand service “Cinema Halls”. Residents of the region will be the first to appreciate the benefits of the new non-linear services “Telearchive” (archive of TV channel programs for a period of up to seven days) and “Start from the Beginning” (the user will be able to watch the program he is interested in from the beginning, no matter at what point he turned it on). The functionality of the services allows you to manage the broadcast even more flexibly, which significantly increases the convenience of TV viewing. The cost of the complex offer will be 2000 rubles. per year.

NJSC National Satellite Company has already leased transponder capacity from Eutelsat on the Express-AT2 satellite (140° East). The necessary logistics and marketing work. It should be noted that only new generation receivers with support for the HEVC video compression format and various non-linear services will be supplied to the Far East.

Alexey Kholodov, General Director of Tricolor TV:"Unique knowledge and accumulated user experience allow us to create digital products that go beyond the boundaries of TV in the usual sense of the word. Tricolor TV, together with the world's largest operators, has long begun to transition from a linear television operator to a digital lifestyle operator. We have now entered the main stage of this process and rebranding should be its visual display. We planned to enter the Far East back in 2014, according to objective reasons this exit did not take place then. But today, thanks to new ones, hybrid technologies“, we can offer users an optimal and very high-quality solution that will provide modern, multi-channel and non-linear digital TV to all residents of Russia, from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, without exception.”

As the leader of the Russian digital television market, Tricolor TV sees its task as providing every Russian viewer with access to high-quality modern digital television products. Now residents of the Far Eastern Federal District will have access to television from the most popular operator in Russia. At the same time, residents of the region will be the first to evaluate the capabilities of the new digital product “Tricolor TV”.

To increase the coverage of the population of the Far East with digital television broadcasting to 100%, it is necessary to seriously increase the number of transmitting stations. This will require almost 7 billion one-time investment and 700 million rubles annually, which will be used to pay for the signal.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia reported on the development of digital TV in the Far East

Khabarovsk, February 26, 2018. — Deputy Minister of Communications and mass communications Russian Federation Alexey Volin took part in the Far Eastern Media Forum. At the opening ceremony of the forum, he spoke about the work of the ministry aimed at ensuring priority development Far East, and on creating infrastructure for the development of digital television.

“In 2018, we are completing our industry project - the federal target program for digital television. This largest project in a world of this kind. 5,011 digital TV facilities have already been built and are operating in the country. The first digital television broadcasting facilities were launched in the Far East,” said the deputy head of the Russian Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications.

Alexey Volin noted that in the European part of Russia there are 40 thousand people per digital television broadcasting facility, in the Far East - 9 thousand. At the same time, approximately 6.5 million people live in the Far East, which is about 5% of the Russian population. “Usually, a tower with a transmitter is not installed if less than 5 thousand people live in the coverage area. Because it’s cheaper to provide for every family satellite dish. But in the Far East a different approach has been implemented. For example, 637 people live on the Commander Islands, but there is a TV tower there and broadcasts digital TV. Five stations in the Khabarovsk Territory are located in settlements where there is no round-the-clock electricity: electricity is provided there for several hours a day, and broadcasting takes place during these same hours - but digital TV facilities have been built there. In total, digital TV covers 97.4% of the population in the Far East,” said Alexey Volin.

“How do we solve this problem? Since the summer of 2017, “NTV+” and “Tricolor TV” have expanded broadcasting to regions of the Far East. And this is the good will of the operators, because there is no margin business there. Today, any resident of the Far East, in any of its most remote and deserted parts, has the opportunity to watch TV. Moreover, for residents settlements who found themselves outside the digital zone ethereal coverage, there will be preferential programs for the purchase of equipment and the absence subscription fee for basic package of 20 channels,” said the deputy head of the Russian Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications. He also recalled that March 9, 2018 will mark the 80th anniversary of domestic television. On this day in 1938, the first studio broadcast took place.

Alexey Volin also spoke about print media. “Created for Far Eastern newspapers special conditions. We know that everyone always and everywhere complains about high tariffs for postal delivery subscription publications. At the same time, in the Far East, Russian Post tariffs are significantly lower than the actual cost: in the south - two times, in the far north - eight times. In essence, publishers from the European part of Russia subsidize their Far Eastern colleagues. About 150 more Far Eastern newspapers receive a 15% discount on the Russian Post subscription tariff,” recalled the deputy head of the Russian Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications.

Satellite operator Tricolor TV plans to invest more than 500 million rubles. into development in the Far East, where Orion, NTV Plus and MTS already operate. In this region, the operator will test a new digital platform to which financial and insurance services, e-commerce, lotteries and betting companies, games and dating services will be connected. Investments can pay off within five to seven years due to high demand due to low broadband penetration, analysts say.

The volume of investments in the Tricolor TV digital platform in the Far East over the next few years, including the cost of renting transponder capacity and other costs, will amount to more than 500 million rubles, the company told Kommersant. Tricolor TV expects to assess audience interest in the new product in the Far East before scaling it to the entire country, explains company CEO Alexey Kholodov. Tricolor TV plans to attract partners to the project, including financial services, e-commerce sphere, lotteries and betting companies, insurance, educational applications, games, dating services. A Kommersant source familiar with the operator’s plans clarifies that Tricolor TV’s partners could include, in particular, the distributor of state lotteries Stoloto, a game developer and i-Free applications, as well as online school English language SkyEng and karaoke.ru service.

Test broadcasting of Tricolor TV in the Far East began on November 1. The company leased capacity from Eutelsat on the Express-AT2 satellite (140°E). Roskomnadzor confirmed to Kommersant that Tricolor TV has initiated a competition for broadcasting in these frequencies, which will be announced in January. Already working in the region satellite operators Orion Group of Companies, MTS and NTV Plus. In 2016, Rostelecom made a significant contribution to the development of pay TV in the region, actively developing networks in large cities, notes Orion Group CEO Kirill Makhnovsky. “So an alternative for subscribers has existed for a long time. And we, in turn, are ready for increased competition,” he says. General Director of NTV Plus Mikhail Demin adds that thanks to the development of competition, there will be more pay TV advertising, more dealers and installers, as well as analysts. “We were ready for such a scenario for the development of the market in the Far Eastern region and the Primorsky Territory and for ourselves we consider it optimistic,” he states. Rostelecom reported that the Far East for the company is traditionally one of the leaders in terms of IPTV penetration and additional services and, therefore, in terms of ARPU. “Perhaps the accelerated growth of IPTV in the Far East is facilitated by a shortage of other types of leisure and entertainment, including due to low population density,” the operator’s press service believes.

According to TMT Consulting analyst Elena Krylova, the prospects of Tricolor TV in the region will depend on the cost of subscriber equipment. "New digital services may be of interest to subscribers, but their demand will, among other things, depend on investments in advertising campaign. There are not many cable pay TV operators in the region, and Rostelecom takes the leading position,” she says. According to Otkritie Broker analyst Timur Nigmatullin, companies in the industry are now targeting a return on invested capital of approximately 15–20%. “This implies a payback of five to seven years. I think in in this case Tricolor TV management sets comparable figures. Above this level, returns are limited by difficult market conditions,” he explains. At the same time, in the Far Eastern federal district lives less than 5% of the total population of Russia, adds Timur Nigmatullin. “The market is small, but in the region the penetration of broadband access is lower and terrestrial TV is worse, which is why the demand for satellite internet and TV, including from commercial organizations and government agencies,” he summarizes.

The volume of investments in the Tricolor TV digital platform in the Far East over the next few years, including the cost of renting transponder capacity and other costs, will amount to more than 500 million rubles, the company told Kommersant. Tricolor TV expects to assess audience interest in the new product in the Far East before scaling it to the entire country, explains company CEO Alexey Kholodov. Tricolor TV plans to attract partners to the project, including financial services, e-commerce, lotteries and bookmaking companies, insurance, educational applications, games, and dating services. A Kommersant source familiar with the operator’s plans clarifies that Tricolor TV’s partners could include, in particular, the distributor of state lotteries Stoloto, the developer of games and applications i-Free, as well as the online English language school SkyEng and the karaoke service .ru.

Test broadcasting of Tricolor TV in the Far East began on November 1. The company leased capacity from Eutelsat on the Express-AT2 satellite (140°E). Roskomnadzor confirmed to Kommersant that Tricolor TV has initiated a competition for broadcasting in these frequencies, which will be announced in January. Satellite operators GC Orion, MTS and NTV Plus are already operating in the region. In 2016, Rostelecom made a significant contribution to the development of pay TV in the region, actively developing networks in large cities, notes Orion Group CEO Kirill Makhnovsky. “So an alternative for subscribers has existed for a long time. And we, in turn, are ready for increased competition,” he says. General Director of NTV Plus Mikhail Demin adds that thanks to the development of competition, there will be more pay TV advertising, more dealers and installers, as well as analysts. “We were ready for such a scenario for the development of the market in the Far Eastern region and the Primorsky Territory and for ourselves we consider it optimistic,” he states. Rostelecom reported that the Far East for the company is traditionally one of the leaders in terms of penetration of IPTV and additional services and, therefore, in terms of ARPU. “Perhaps the accelerated growth of IPTV in the Far East is facilitated by a shortage of other types of leisure and entertainment, including due to low population density,” the operator’s press service believes.