By Martin Ritchie.

Russians haven't exactly warmed to the idea of paying for what they watch on television, but the pay TV market is set to liven up this year. Two recent entrants, Comcor TV and Versatel, are gearing up to challenge the dominance of more time-served players Kosmos TV and NTV Plus.

The market in cable television services is small - about $20 million - but it grew by at least 10 percent last year, according to various estimates.

"Pay TV currently has a very low penetration rate; the existing operators have not been able to educate people properly about the benefits of pay TV, " said Sarwar Afsar, vice president at Versatel, a company formed last year with the aim of bringing digital cable TV to Russia. "But we see the sector developing very nicely as people here acquire more disposable income."

According to experts, one thing is true: Any operator or observer of the pay-TV market in Moscow knows that the population has proved resistant to the possibility of paying for a greater range of television services.

Frank Baker, president of one of the companies behind the Comcor TV project, said: "This is one of our major problems and something we really do have to look at. Maybe it's connected with the Soviet heritage, but the idea of paying for television just hasn't sunk in."

So companies looking to muscle in on the market are trying to break down a mentality as well as break open a market.

F A C T B O X

SERVICE INFORMATION

* NTV Plus

Package: Standard

Sign-up costs: $395 inc. equipment, installation and a six-month pre-payment

Monthly payment: $18.95

No. of channels: 37 foreign + 9 Russian

Other options: Sport, film, night-time packages for $8.95 each per month.

* Comcor TV

Package: Sozvezdie

Sign-up costs: $95, inc. one-month pre-payment

Monthly payment: $15

No. of channels: 31 foreign + 16 Russian

Other options: Basic planeta package (17 foreign channels), $8.5

* Kosmos TV

Package: Basic

Sign-up costs: $220 inc. equipment, one month pre-payment

Monthly payment: $20

No. of channels: 50 foreign, 15 Russian

Other options: 64-channel Elite package for $40 per month; erotic, entertainment, Western packages

* Divo TV

Package: Full

Sign-up costs: $150

Monthly payment: $15.95

No. of channels: 30 channels

Other options: