In a bid to generate revenue amid the severe economic crisis gripping the nation, the Cuban regime has announced that its state-run streaming service, Picta, will integrate commercial advertising, foreign subscriptions, and channel memberships.
This announcement was made during the second anniversary event for Z17 and Picta, attended by content creators, developers, and representatives from the Havana Scientific and Technological Park.
“You can advertise on Picta. We are also introducing subscriptions from abroad. Now, you can become a member of a channel, which grants access to exclusive content from creators, thereby directly supporting them,” explained Marcos Pérez, the platform's technical director.
Channel memberships offer a system where users pay creators directly for access to exclusive content, a model akin to YouTube but tailored to the Cuban context with payments in local currency via national bank cards.
While subscriptions from abroad mark a significant step, the regime faces a technical hurdle: registration on Picta is primarily available to Cuban mobile lines, restricting access from outside the island.
Collaborations and Challenges
Havana Channel and Picta have entered into an agreement to manage content on the platform, aiming to expand the digital reach of the channel and bring its audiovisual productions to diverse audiences.
Z17, the joint venture that includes Picta, toDus, and Apklis, was established in September 2024 between the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA) and the Havana Scientific and Technological Park.
Picta was launched in 2018 as a project by the University of Informatics Sciences and ETECSA, initially presented as Cuba's answer to Netflix. It boasts over 600,000 registered users and sees about a thousand new video uploads each month.
Legal Backing and Economic Context
The platform's incorporation of advertising is legally supported by the Social Communication Law (Law 162/2023), published in the Official Gazette in June 2024, which permits commercial advertising in Cuban media under specific regulations.
Decree 102/2024 regulates this, limiting ads to three minutes per hour of broadcast and prohibiting them during children's programming and newscasts.
Against the backdrop of Cuba's economic turmoil after decades of dictatorship, the regime is urgently seeking sources of revenue in both foreign and national currency. Proprietary digital platforms have become one of the few venues where they attempt to replicate monetization models that the rest of the world has been familiar with for years.
Understanding Picta's New Revenue Strategies
What is the primary goal of introducing ads on Picta?
The primary goal is to generate revenue for the Cuban regime amid a severe economic crisis by utilizing state-run digital platforms.
How does Picta's channel membership model work?
Picta's channel membership model allows users to pay creators directly for access to exclusive content, similar to YouTube's model, but with payments in Cuban pesos through national banks.
What legal framework supports advertising on Picta?
Advertising on Picta is supported by the Social Communication Law (Law 162/2023) and regulated by Decree 102/2024, which allows commercial ads with certain restrictions.