- Ruslan, please tell me what the current audience of the Internet in Russia?
- Recent data of our study show that the average monthly audience of the Internet in Russia is 27 million, representing approximately 45% of the population. I want to emphasize that when we talk about these figures, we are not referring to all the inhabitants of the country, but Russians over 12 years living in cities of more than 100 thousand people. In Moscow, with a monthly audience of the Internet is 62% of the city, in St. Petersburg – 56%. Over the past 12 months the number of Internet users in Russia grew by 16%.

- Whether the crisis has influenced the growth of connections to the World Wide Web?
- I do not think that in the current economic situation increased dramatically slow connections. This is sufficiently inertial process. Far more, in our opinion, limit the growth of infrastructure problems – put simply, the possibility of laying the cable. On the other hand, in some age groups reach of the Internet has already exceeded 90%, and in this case to the audience simply do not have the physical capacity to expand further.

- How would you describe the new Internet user in terms of its affiliation to the social and age group?
- The main group of web users in Russia - people under 45 years. The largest increase in recent years was recorded in a group of 25 to 45 years, because a group of 12 to 24 years sooner mastered this medium. We assume that the audience of the Internet in the future in its composition will be more similar to the urban population of our country.

- How to change user preferences in this new situation? What resources are becoming more interesting to him, which are less so?
- We do not know what services or types of sites will dominate in the coming years. Rather – it is a question to the heads of major Internet projects. In my opinion, the main advantage of the Internet over other media is that it can provide a high level of focus, targeting services, advertising services on the narrow group of users. And on this basis will be based services of the future. Media will change the future of Internet companies will become more personalized.

- And what resources are currently the most popular in RuNet?
- In terms of audience leaders are portals (Mail.Ru, Yandex and Rambler), and social networks – «classmates» and «VKontakte». That is in Russia’s segment of the Internet is now leading service platform.

- Is a conflict between the popularity of social networks and the reluctance of advertisers place where they are not sure of the quality of content?
- Rather, in this case is to talk about the need to develop new advertising models. On the one hand, there are resources with great coverage – a social network ( «classmates», «VKontakte» and others), as well as blogservisy, such as «Learn» and LiveInternet. On the other hand – there are companies interested in promoting their goods and services on the web. The problem is that social networks and resources with User-Generated Content (content created by the user. – ВЗГЛЯД) differ from what the media used to seeing the advertiser. Advertising model that is applicable to other media, the Internet does not work. But, in my opinion, the removal of this misunderstanding – a matter of time. Advertising model is already formed and can be effective. To do this, overcome the inertia of the advertiser, as well as to develop the most appropriate technologies and tools from the owners of sites or sellers of Internet advertising. Note the last transaction to purchase DST 2% of Facebook. While this is an investment in the future. But the deal itself shows that the belief that a new advertising model will be found there.

- Nevertheless, the yellow press, for example, already more than a hundred years, but the important «brand» advertising on the pages of such publications are not. Granted, the subway you can see a lot of reading tabloids.
- I want to note that the scope of the audience itself is no longer a single value for the advertiser. An example of traditional media, which had in the past monopoly on information dissemination and advertising and then remained in the past. For those who wish to advertise their products today are no more problems with the report information to the consumer. There are many ways to communicate about themselves – from handing out leaflets on the streets to interactive advertising on the Internet. Today, advertisers can choose which channel of communication they use. They can decide what is more important – the ratio of «price-quality» (which means I will be cheaper) or a component of the image (as far as I want my brand associated with a particular news or visual side by side). And today it is – choice advertiser.

- Social networks have become to some extent a symbol of «fat years». Can I say that in the new economic situation, its peak of development they have already passed? Or they still potential for growth?
- I look at it a little differently: «fat» years were purely for the owners of these services for site owners who could afford to invest in resources that are not expecting to receive instantaneous income. Yes, in the last few years have seen a boom in social networking, but from the perspective of users, it has nothing to do with «fat» years, is largely a question of content and novelty pnternet services. So I think that social networks a great potential for quality development in the future.

- How to express these changes?
- Any media is fighting for his time listener, reader or viewer. Today, we see that the Russians began to spend more time on the Internet. There is a growing domestic use, the number of sessions in the evening. This means that the Internet already competently competes with other media. Before television, for example, was the subject of family viewing – can recall now, where the family sits together in front of a television in the evening in the living room. Now it’s already gone. Today we see multicontact Wednesday – no surprise the man sitting in front of TV with the laptop, and certainly almost certainly his next laptop will be based on a mobile phone.
Russia market is faced with two important trends in recent years: the dramatic growth of the Internet - the coverage, the number of users, time spent in the web, on the one hand, and on the other – the development of cable and satellite television, when the number of channels available to people, sharply increased. This is largely influenced the model of the electronic media.
It must be said that in Russia a unique situation – worldwide cable and satellite TV have coverage before broadband Internet access, but in Russia it happened simultaneously.
Against this background, active, a new model of media consumption, and for providers of electronic services an opportunity to personalize the services provided. In my opinion, this trend will dominate in the future.

- In this context, large Internet providers, began to make a single sentence «Internet + TV», caught the trend and decided to use it themselves or it formed?
- I think what happened here a combination of factors.

- How is the case with advertising budgets on the Internet? I wonder whether this medium for advertisers?
- Internet has left the position of «poor relation», where advertising money were given as a residual. The vast majority of companies, in our experience, are looking at the Internet as a very important and promising communication channel. Another thing is that, as I said, the original advertising model, which worked on the classic media, is not applicable here, requires new solutions.

- How will the crisis change the situation?
- I think that the crisis, paradoxically, would have a positive impact on Internet industry. The fact that the current economic situation has forced advertisers to more closely analyze the distribution of advertising budgets. At the same time period, when the Internet was considered as merely a newfangled technological toy was unclear how it can be used as an advertising platform, has gone. Everyone understands that this is an important channel of communication with consumers. Today it is becoming clear that the Internet in Russia as a media segment is still undervalued, that the amount of invested money in this environment of proportion to the volume of contacts that she can give. Therefore, I am sure that in 2009 many companies increase their online advertising investment.

- And as the crisis in general affect the media market?
- Today we are seeing two trends in the advertising market in Russia: first, to increase the share of television advertising budgets, because of the difficult economic period, TV - the most effective media for large advertisers. On the other hand, also increases the Internet. And the media such as outdoor advertising, press and radio, unfortunately, suffer from the worst of the crisis.

- Why is television in the crisis becomes so important to advertisers?
- First of all, television – is cheap in terms of the value of the contact. No other media provides the same coverage as television. TV at the moment of uncertainty at the end of last year, when market players do not understand what will be marketing the model in 2009, became a kind of money «vacuum» in the advertising market, dragging themselves advertising budgets from other media. This was due to the fact that advertisers in Russia continue to perceive the TV as a guarantor – «very foundations» advertising market.

- How changing TV using? What began to look more, that began to look less?
- Television in our country remains largely entertaining.

- Despite the crisis? That is not news began to look more?
- News consumption remains a niche, except, God forbid, emergencies, when they all rushed to see what happens. News ether component itself, its value for the viewer is not decisive. With the development of Internet television lost its monopoly on the news and on the speed of their delivery spectators. News, of course, must be on the air, but they do not attract the viewer. Television for the viewer today – is primarily a channel of entertainment. Hence the high interest in serials and entertainment programs. This category also includes programs and sports broadcasts.

- Why is the background of sporting success in 2008 television still remains «serial»?
- Due to the fact that the sporting event actually watching – once. FIFA Football spectators look on during the time of the meeting. Just like the Olympics. But there is always a question of filling the ether and attract visitors during periods when there are any high-profile events. Against this background, the charm of serials from the perspective of television – that you can during the season to maintain a more or less permanent interest of the audience.

- It happens all over the world?
- Yes, so the sports channels around the world, usually paid.

- What do you see the situation on the media market after the economic stabilization will occur?
- Competition for the time the consumer media content between the media will only increase. First of all, due to the emergence of new media, Internet development, satellite and cable television. Against this background will be the fragmentation of audiences, and the proportion of time that a user in the sum will be spent on each of the media, will decline. In such a situation, in terms of audience, inevitably a reduction in the proportion of leading players in media markets and a bigger share of the second and third tier. On the other hand, I am sure that during the crisis period, we will see a new wave of mergers and acquisitions in the media market and, consequently, will form the new media structure. Perhaps as strengthening the position of the leading players of today and the emergence of new companies.

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