Next fall, MTS plans to launch its own video hosting to attract the attention of a part of the Russian YouTube and TikTok audience. The basis of the system will be the game streaming service WASD, which is also owned by MTS. At the first stage, it is planned to invest 1.5-2 billion rubles, writes “Kommersant”.
“In addition to broadcasting games, the platform [WASD] user-generated content should appear – movie reviews, vlogs, beauty blogs, and so on”, — explained the sources of the publication.
At the same time, as stated, the infrastructure of the future service is already being prepared. The expansion of the server park and functionality is planned, and rebranding is not excluded.
“The necessary amount of computing power has already been contracted, the team is expanding‘ added another source. At the same time, the company itself declined to comment.
Note that MTS launched WASD in 2021, but recently the audience of the service has fallen sharply, although the reasons for this are not named. The platform itself was positioned as a system for gaming, professional eSports and multimedia content.
At the same time, experts are cautious in their assessments. Vyacheslav Makarov, ex-Director of Wargaming Product, said that the VK Play Live streaming service “looks more promising” than WASD.
“You need to understand that the VK streaming service is a platform that does not exist on its own, but in synergy with social networks, their game store, and cloud gaming service. This will allow the project to quickly increase its audience.“, – said Makarov.
In addition to MTS, Rostelecom can launch its site on the basis of the Wink online cinema. There, the costs are estimated at 1.16 billion rubles, but Rostelecom itself does not comment on this either.
