📊 ON Media reports Q1 earnings
ON Media Holding, which consolidates the entertainment and media assets of MTS Group, has announced its financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2026.
Quarterly revenue for the media vertical increased by 3.8% year-on-year, reaching 6.965 billion rubles compared to 6.708 billion rubles for the same period last year. The primary catalyst for the holding’s growth was the accelerated expansion of digital OTT and TV services, alongside enhanced ecosystem synergy driven by the company’s “360-degree” strategy.
The number of paying subscribers for the Kion online cinema surged by 30% year-on-year. The streaming service’s total audience across all four distribution environments (cable, satellite, IPTV, and OTT) reached 16.3 million people, adding 1.5 million users.
- Focus on Exclusive Content: Kion currently has over 100 original projects in production. The main viewership drivers for the KION Originals slate in early 2026 were the comedy Zheka Russell, the franchise sequel Sergiy Against Evil Spirits: Call of the Ancestors, and the dramas The Reservation and Black Sun.
- Audio and Literary Verticals: The catalog of the music division, ON Label, expanded by 38% due to the acquisition of new artists, with rapper SEEMEE emerging as the quarter’s most-streamed newcomer at 3 million streams. Within Kion Music, the average listening time per user rose by 11%, while reading time in the book service Kion Lines grew by 20%, fueled by cross-holding integration.
- Live Events and Ticketing: During the first three months of the year, the ticketing vertical MTS Live sold 4.2 million tickets, pushing the segment’s Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) to 10.6 billion rubles (+1.4%). Concerts retain their status as the division’s primary revenue source, generating 55% of total turnover. Concurrently, the total number of concert events nationwide rose by 14%, with the most significant regional growth recorded in Voronezh (+38%) and Krasnodar (+21%).
In parallel, analysts recorded rising ticket prices across all entertainment segments. The average cost of theater tickets increased by 11% (to 2,466 rubles), concert tickets rose by 9% (to 2,800 rubles), and musical tickets climbed by 6% (to 3,213 rubles).
Source: ON Media
