Number of Russians who download films for free irrespective of quality shrinks 5 times in past 5 years - poll

MOSCOW. Sept 21 (Interfax) - Five percent of Internet users in Russia prefer downloading or watching films online for free irrespective of quality, versus 25% in 2018, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) said in a statement on its website on Thursday.

One in six, or 16%, prefer paying to download or watch a film online for the sake of good quality, about half less than five years ago (34%), the pollster said.

The number of Russians who prefer to wait for a free online copy in good quality grew from 16% to 36% over the past five years, while the number of Russians who would rather watch a film in a theater has quadrupled, from 3% in 2018 to 12%.

Two percent of Russians have no intention to watch films online, VCIOM said. Twenty-three percent of respondents said they never download or watch films online. Two percent are undecided on what they would do if they wished to see a film.

VCIOM polled 1,600 respondents aged 18 and up by phone nationwide on September 10.