An assessment of the digital maturity of the Russian media industry

This work assesses the digital maturity of the Russian media industry, as a necessary stage for creating a digital transformation strategy for media companies. The research hypothesis is that there is a lack of relevant methods for assessing the digital maturity of the media industry in Russia. The research methodology is based on two aspects: 1) the digital maturity of the media industry is understood as an element of the digital economy; 2) the digital maturity of the media industry is formed taking into account approaches to assessing the digital maturity of other sectors of the economy. The study uses methods found in the literature, consulting and audit reports, and the reports of economic organizations. The paper proposes an approach to assessing the digital maturity of the media industry based on open data and a survey of media companies. This approach consists of two parts: the first part involves a rapid assessment of the digital maturity of the media industry using open data; the second part involves a more detailed assessment based on a survey of media company representatives. The statistical base was compiled from HSE University reports and the online recruitment platform Headhunter (HH.ru). The result of the study is an assessment of four segments of the media industry: publishing, broadcasting, content production, and other services. Based on the results, we conclude that broadcasting is the most developed segment by digital maturity indicator; the publishing segment is the least developed. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of media companies using the results to compare their own indicators with industry averages, which will help determine the need for their digital transformation.