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How OTT-services, operating in Russia, will count viewers for regulation purposes?

Russian Roskomnadzor proposed instructions for OTT-(audio-visual)-services explaining how to count viewers visiting web-sites of such services. This instruction has been proposed in order to implement new law on OTT-(audio-visual)-services operating in Russia. This law provides regulation for popular services with audience more than 100 thousands viewers a day.

First of all, the question, how to count viewers, requires answer. If the viewer at least 15 seconds has watched audio-visual work on service’s web-site or single page of web-site in his/her browser, it equals to one viewer. 15 seconds can be a standard for services. The visit of internet user lasting less than 15 seconds doesn’t count.

But what about resources of statistics? It can be information or data from open sources. But the services, included in the registry of Roskomnadzor, must provide supervising authority with statistics and install any of the programs, proposed by such authority and counting the quantity of viewers.

For some audio-visual services the main criterion is whether such counter is for free and whether it is possible to install it without any harm to the services and its functions. Services don’t want to pay additional fees for counters approved by Roskomnadzor.