The total audience of the Rutube video hosting platform in 15 Russian regions increased to 77% among users aged 12 to 60. This was announced by the press service of Gazprom-Media Holding's digital assets (the service owner).
Rutube is used by over three-quarters of residents in Russia's largest regions.
The largest number of Rutube users was in Novosibirsk Oblast — 93%. Sverdlovsk Oblast came in second with 88%. Next is the capital region — Moscow and Moscow Oblast account for 86%. Krasnodar Krai with 80% and Rostov Oblast with 65% also made it into the top five in terms of audience reach.
Many Russians prefer to watch movies on the platform. Lifestyle programs and TV series are also in demand.
Rutube appeared in 2006 as a domestic analogue to the foreign online video hosting and viewing service YouTube (owned by Google). The audience of the Russian platform began to increase sharply against the backdrop of the American one slowing down in 2024.
Restrictions against YouTube were introduced due to violations of Russian Federation legislation. The service administration refused to remove illegal content, blocked channels of Russian media and public figures.