The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2019
iQiyi made VIP members pay again to watch ahead — a member sued and won
iQiyi charged its own VIP members ¥3 an episode to watch a hit drama early. A member sued, a Beijing court called the terms unfair, and iQiyi lost on appeal.
iQiyi · 2019-12
What happened
iQiyi is one of China's biggest video-streaming platforms. Like its rivals, it sells VIP memberships that promise members early access to hit dramas — the 'watch hot dramas first' right — along with fewer ads. In late 2019 its costume drama 《庆余年》 (Joy of Life) became one of the year's biggest hits.
As 《庆余年》 neared its finale in December 2019, iQiyi offered even its VIP members a paid '超前点播' (advance on-demand) option: pay ¥3 an episode to watch ahead of the VIP schedule. Members revolted. They had paid for VIP precisely to watch early, and now they were being charged a second time; many also complained that VIPs still had to sit through 'member-exclusive' ads. The anger spread across Chinese social media.
A Shanghai lawyer and iQiyi Gold VIP member, Wu Shengwei, sued in the Beijing Internet Court. On 2 June 2020 the court ruled in his favour: parts of iQiyi's VIP agreement were invalid under China's Contract Law, the '超前点播' clause added after Wu bought his membership did not bind him, and iQiyi owed him 15 days of VIP rights and ¥1,500 in notarisation fees. The court said iQiyi had used standard terms to exclude consumer rights and cut the 'watch first' promise it had been paid for. iQiyi appealed, and on 9 December 2020 the judgment was upheld.
Why it happened
- iQiyi sold VIP on the promise of watching hit dramas first, then treated that promise as something it could re-sell — members were charged again for the very thing they had already paid for.
- The member agreement gave iQiyi a unilateral right to change terms, which the company read as consent; the court found that unfair because members had no real way to refuse, get a refund, or leave.
- Adding a paid tier on top of VIP effectively re-graded existing members downward without saying so, which felt like a betrayal of the tier they had bought.
- The practice was industry-wide — Tencent Video and Youku did the same — so members had no platform that honoured the original VIP deal, turning frustration into a shared grievance.
The lesson
A membership is a contract, not a teaser. iQiyi sold VIP as 'watch hot dramas first,' then charged VIPs again to watch first. It broke the promise it had been paid for — and a court said so.
Aftermath
Wu's win was narrow — by the time the final judgment took effect, he noted, members who had joined before 超前点播 had mostly expired and could not replicate it. But the revolt outlived the case. On 9 September 2021 the China Consumers Association criticised the platforms' VIP practices, urging them to respect members' choice and drop per-episode charges. On 4 October 2021, iQiyi, Tencent Video and Youku all announced they would cancel advance-on-demand for dramas. One member's lawsuit had not removed the practice; the backlash it crystallised did.
Sources
- The Paper: 爱奇艺'《庆余年》超前点播'案终审维持原判 (Beijing Internet Court ruling, full case)
- China News: 爱奇艺、优酷、腾讯视频相继宣布取消剧集超前点播 (cancellation, 4 October 2021)
- People's Daily: 爱奇艺、优酷、腾讯视频宣布取消超前点播服务 (China Consumers Association criticism)
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