VK ecosystem overtakes YouTube for first time in share of mobile traffic in Russia - Shadayev

ST. PETERSBURG. June 7 (Interfax) - The VK ecosystem overtook the YouTube video hosting service for the first time in Russia in May in share of mobile traffic, which is a sign of its ability to successfully compete with it for audience attention, Russia's Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev said.

"Our goal, of course, is for the share of Russian platforms in the overall consumption structure to grow. Moreover, in general, I looked at the statistics for May and saw an interesting fact: for the first time, our VK ecosystem has overtaken YouTube in terms of volume; in terms of the share of mobile traffic. This is very important fact, I think this is a very good result of the work that's been done," Shadayev said on Friday during the SPIEF-2024 session dedicated to digital platforms.

"This just shows that, in general, we compete. We do not limit YouTube, but we successfully compete with it," the minister said.

"Our task as a state is to create incentives for our own platforms to develop," Shadayev said.

The ministry's press service said that the share of VK and Odnoklassniki in overall mobile operator traffic reached 17% at the end of May, while YouTube's share was 16%.