Russia partially rows back on pay TV ad ban

Russia has partially backpedalled on legislation that would have banned advertising on all pay TV channels, potentially driving a significant number of channels out of the market.

A new law passed by the State Duma on the initiative of Olga Timofeyeva, a deputy from the President Vladimir Putin-aligned United Russia party will see commercials permitted on pay TV channels whose content mix is 75% locally produced.

Under the new law, programming that is 50% funded by Russian entities or individuals will qualify towards the 75% quota. The Russian competition regulator will be tasked with deciding which shows qualify.

Under a law passed last year, all channels that are available exclusively on a pay basis, as well as those that can only be accessed using a TV decoder were to be forbidden from carrying advertising, with the exception of national state-controlled channels.