The online cinema Tvzavr has launched the Russian Cinema application, which will work on Smart TVs in 248 countries. The service was made with the support of Roskino and the Ministry of Culture. The project budget was $1 million

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The online cinema Tvzavr launched an application for Smart TV called “Russian Cinema” in 248 countries, according to a press release received by RBC.

The application content consists entirely of Russian films, TV series and cartoons. The service, aimed at popularizing domestic cinema in Russia and abroad, was made jointly with Roskino and with information support from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Its launch is timed to coincide with the Year of Cinema.

The service will operate separately from the Tvzavr online cinema itself. For now, the application is only available on LG TVs. In the near future, the cinema’s statement notes, “Russian Cinema” will appear on other televisions, as well as in online and mobile versions.

The total budget of the project, Tvzavr told RBC, amounted to $1 million. This is mainly spent on developing the application, purchasing rights to display Russian content around the world and marketing. The Russian Cinema application will contain both free and paid content. It will make money from advertising, subscriptions and the sale of individual paintings. The cost of subscription in Russia will be 249 rubles. per month, the cost of the premiere will start from 99 rubles. Abroad, the service will be available only by subscription, for €4 per month. Abroad, Russian content will be available with subtitles.

The idea to make a separate application about Russian cinema is related to the popularity of such content on Tvzavr. “Having analyzed the behavior model of a paying user on Tvzavr, we saw that Russian films are leading in online rental,” Tvzavr CEO Marina Surygina explained to RBC. — The films “Warrior”, “Spiritless 2”, “Gorko 2” overtook foreign films in terms of box office receipts. They prefer to watch blockbusters in cinemas, online - Russian films, especially since Russian films are released on Tvzavr in early digital windows (that is, with a short interval after their release on the wide screen - RBC ), and some - simultaneously with cinemas.”

The priority countries for the Russian Cinema application are the USA, Israel, Germany and Eastern European countries, that is, countries with a large Russian-speaking diaspora. The company expects to increase the Tvzavr audience around the world through the application.

The launch of the Russian Cinema application is a significant and responsible step for the domestic film industry and domestic video services, says Viktor Chekanov, CEO of one of the largest online cinemas in Russia, Megogo. “We have been working with foreign markets for several years (Megogo purchases content with a license for the whole world at once . - RBC ) and we know from our experience that the Russian-speaking audience really has a need for Russian-language content, although we are seeing a positive response from our audience not only for emerging domestic films, but also for foreign content available with Russian dubbing,” he explained.

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Tvzavr, founded in 2010, is one of the largest online cinemas in Russia in terms of audience. According to its own data, Tvzavr’s monthly audience as of March 2016 is more than 22 million people, Tvzavr’s income in 2015 amounted to 180 million rubles. The Tvzavr library contains more than 40 thousand pieces of content. The audience of Tvzavr's two main competitors - Ivi.ru and Tvigle - is about 27 million and 23.5 million users in Russia (hereinafter, company data). Megogo's audience in the CIS exceeds 40 million users, but in Russia it is about 17 million people. Ivi.ru is also ahead of everyone in terms of income: its revenue in 2015 exceeded 1 billion rubles. Okko cinema is in second place - its income amounted to more than 600 million rubles. in 2015 (the cinema did not provide audience data). Megogo's income for the same period amounted to 419.4 million rubles. Tvigle does not disclose its revenue.

Online cinema Tvzavr will show Russian cinema in 250 countries