Netflix seems to have evaded new Russian foreign ownership law

Despite the coming into force on Saturday of a Russian law limiting foreign ownership of video streaming services to 20 per cent, streaming giant Netflix appears to still be up and running in Russia.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, it has been suggested that a particular clause of the law might provide Netflix with a useful loophole. The regulation stipulates that new ownership limits apply to services with a daily audience of over 100,000, but the company has kept the number of subscribers it has in Russia under wraps thus far. While Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor will require all online video services operating in Russia will to install software to track and report the number of users, Roskomnadzor failed to confirm whether this information would be made public.

In April Roskomnadzor head Alexander Zharov stated that Netflix was in negotiations with a local company regarding forming a partnership, a step that would be necessary in order to continue its operations in Russia. Netflix has not confirmed that any such negotiations have taken place.

If you’re in Russia and a Netflix fan, maybe spend today watching … while you can.

Source: Hollywood Reporter