Blind audience targeting in Connected TV (CTV) is losing its relevance. For a long time, the market wrestled with a trade-off between the broad reach of linear TV and the precision of digital.
The audience of online streaming services in Russia continues to reshape media consumption habits. According to a September study by the Romir research holding (a sample of 1,500 respondents using the GRI methodology), the proportion of Russians who watch video content exclusively via streaming platforms rose by 4 percentage points over the year, reaching 21%.
Traditional television is undergoing a fundamental transformation that can be summed up in a single sentence: media consumption is shifting to the digital space, forcing linear broadcasting to adopt the mechanics of the internet.
In the first half of 2026, the domestic advertising market maintained positive momentum, though its growth rate slowed significantly.
The first half of 2026 marked a period of robust recovery for the CIS film distribution market. According to Rentrak data, combined box office revenue across the region’s eight markets rose by 14.9% year-on-year, reaching 7.69 billion rubles.
Performance marketing has accustomed the industry to fast, transparent metrics and immediate audience response. Against this backdrop, traditional and Connected TV (CTV) find themselves in a vulnerable position: a significant portion of their impact is delayed or misattributed to lower-funnel digital channels.
Estimates of growth in the terrestrial video delivery market have shifted radically over the past four years—from 40% down to a modest 3–4% projected for 2026.
According to an updated forecast by the Rodnaya Rech group, presented by Senior Vice President Sergey Beloglazov during the Changing Media Landscape webinar, the media market is projected to grow by 7–19% in 2027, reaching RUB 2–2.1 trillion. Excluding retail media, performance will be more modest, with an estimated growth of 5–10% (reaching RUB 1–1.3 trillion).
Russian users are increasingly consuming video content on the go. According to a joint study by MegaFon and Kinopoisk, online video generated 47% of all mobile internet traffic in the country in August 2026. On average, a single subscriber consumes around 20 GB of data per month on short clips, movies, and TV series.
Connected TV (CTV) has consolidated its status as the primary growth driver for the premium video advertising market in Europe.
