News Corp. will be pulling out of the Russian media market, Rupert Murdoch has announced, Gipp.ru reported Monday.

Russian public firm Gazprom-Media is eyeing News Outdoor Group (NOG), the largest outdoor advertising firm in Russia, but the sole owner is still News Corp.

Murdoch may also be worried about the Russian government's influence on the outdoor ad market. Yuliya Gordeeva, an ING Bank analyst, said Murdoch already has enough trouble with the business environment in Russia and that now he may be forced to pay high sums of money for renting billboards, according to Gipp.ru.

Gordeeva said some billboards might be taken down in Moscow, which may affect News Corp.'s revenues.

Dariya Gelmanova, BigBoard's PR manager, said the News Outdoor constructions do not comply with roadside advert standards for Russia, and also do not correspond with European norms. Subsequently, they will have to be taken down, Gipp.ru reported.

According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers research, the Russian advertising industry brought in US$1.6 million in 2007. Gipp.ru stated that experts in the field predict the figure will diminish over the next five years.