For the first time, VKontakte has surpassed YouTube in terms of monthly user coverage. In December 2024, the Russian social network was visited by 92 million users, while 89.6 million Russians visited YouTube, writes RBC with reference to Mediascope data.
VKontakte surpassed YouTube in terms of monthly reach in Russia for the first time
Author: Anastasia Lipchanskaya
The decline in the audience of American video hosting in Russia occurred against the backdrop of a slowdown in its work. Compared to 2023, the number of users decreased by 6%, and compared to November – by 1.8%. The VKontakte audience increased by 2.8% over the year, as calculated by Mediascope.
March 2024 saw YouTube’s highest monthly reach in two years. At that time, the platform was visited by more than 96 million Russians. The fall in YouTube’s audience to 92.9 million people occurred in September, when the platform’s performance deteriorated. The VKontakte audience was growing, but slowly: from 90 million people in March, it only increased to 90.5 million in September.
A VKontakte representative explained the changes by improving the performance of the VK Video and VK Clips services. According to him, they “updated their recommendation algorithms, expanded their base of original content, and launched new monetization tools for authors.”
Denis Kuskov, head of the TelecomDaily agency, believes that the growth in coverage can be explained by the company’s active marketing policy, which is promoted not only on the Internet, but also on television and radio. At the same time, the expert noted that YouTube’s coverage has decreased slightly, and Russians are likely to resort to all possible options for accessing the platform.
YouTube in Russia began to slow down in the summer of 2024. On December 19, subscribers of MTS, Megafon, T2 and Beeline began to complain about problems accessing the service on mobile devices. Before this, the slowdown only affected the desktop version. An RBC source in the media market admitted that YouTube is facing a “complete blocking” in Russia.
Cover photo: DenPhotos / Shutterstock
Source: rb.ru
