Global Media Intelligence 2019: Russia

Key Features

Russia is a clear example of a media landscape in transition, as digital devices and activities become mainstream for the first time.

• In H1 2018, the penetration rates of smartphones and desktops/laptops were similar. By H1 2019, smartphones were clearly in the ascendancy: 92.8% of internet users owned one, compared with 89.0% who owned a PC. Both percentages were higher than one would see in the wider population, however—not just because GlobalWebIndex surveyed internet users only, but because the sample was overwhelmingly urban (see note below).
• Similarly, smart TVs and feature phones posted comparable levels of ownership in H1 2018, as the former device gained a significant presence in the market for the first time, and the latter began to give way to smartphones. In H1 2019, 30.9% of internet users said they owned a smart TV, while feature phone ownership had slipped to 23.5%.
• In H1 2019, 41.6% of internet users polled in Russia owned a tablet. But ownership of many other digital items—including smartwatches, smart wristbands and TV streaming sticks—remained below 8.0%. Only 10.7% of internet users owned a game console. A mere 2.9% of respondents said they owned a smart-home device, such as a home energy consumption monitor that could be managed via a mobile app.
• Russia posted one of the lowest rates of print readership in the GlobalWebIndex/Publicis Media survey. Barely 44% of respondents polled in Q1 2019 had read a print newspaper in the prior month, and about 41% had read a print magazine. Penetration was higher among older age groups, and print magazine readership was more prominent among those in affluent homes.
• Some 60.1% of internet users listened to broadcast radio in the month prior to polling, spending 47 minutes per day, on average—slightly more than the average time spent streaming music, at 43 minutes. But the audience of digital audio listeners was comparatively small, at 37.8% of respondents.