etflix says it has “no plans” to carry 20 free-to-air channels in Russia that it could be required to by Russian law.
Some of the channels, which include news, sports and entertainment, are reportedly aligned with Russian authorities.
The streaming giant localised its services in Russia just over a year ago and in December 2021 was added to an audio-visual services register by Russian regulator Roskomnadzor, after reaching over 100,000 subscribers.
Because of this, Netflix is in theory required to be part of a law, known locally as the Vitrina TV law, to distribute 20 “must carry” television channels.
Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service.
However, the PA news agency understands that the law is not fully implemented despite speculation that it would be enforced on March 1.
“Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” a spokesperson for Netflix said in a statement.
The streaming giant’s operations in Russia are still small and there are no offices or employees in the territory.
Netflix currently continues to offer its service to Russian members while monitoring the situation in Ukraine closely.