MOSCOW, August 6 The number of downloads of the VK Video app has increased 4.5 times compared to the monthly average after YouTube slowed down in Russia, VK reported.
The head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein, said at the end of July that slowing down YouTube in Russia was a necessary measure. He warned that YouTube download speeds on computers could drop by 70 percent, but mobile communications would not be affected for now. Roskomnadzor later commented that the grounds for taking action against YouTube were disrespect for Russia and its citizens, as well as numerous violations of the law.
«The number of app installations has increased by 4.5 times compared to the monthly average,» VK said, commenting on the growth in VK Video downloads after YouTube slowed down in Russia.
In the App Store in Russia, Russian video hosting sites VK Video and Rutube have overtaken YouTube in popularity in the free apps section, taking second and third place, respectively, while the American service took ninth place. And in Google Play, VK Video has become the leader in the Best section, with Zen below it, while YouTube has not even made it into the top 30 apps popular with Russian users.
As Khinshtein noted, VK Video and Rutube are high-quality alternatives to YouTube in Russia that can take advantage of the decline of the platform and attract more users.
Currently on the Russian market there is the MTS video service for videos and streams NUUM, “VK Clips” and “VK Video”, Rutube and “Pikabu” — one of the largest blogging platforms on the Runet, which is currently testing a separate video tape of short videos. And in June, the Regional Public Center for Internet Technologies (ROCIT) announced the launch of a domestic analogue of YouTube — video hosting «Platform». type=»ar16x9″ data-crop-ratio=»0.5625″ data-crop-width=»650″ data-crop-height=»366″ data-source-sid=»rian_photo» title=»Official Representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova» class=»lazyload» width=»1920″ height=»1080″ decoding=»async» />