OTT players struggle to retain subscribers after the new payment rules kick in?

The over-the-top streaming platforms are reportedly struggling after the new RBI rules kicked in earlier this month. The new rules require the users to process an additional authentication for the payments towards their subscriptions for these platforms. 

According to analysts, the new payment rules can be cumbersome for new users, especially those who are not tech-savvy. This could include the older generation and viewers from the semi-rural areas. They also observe a dip in the number of existing users and new registrations, especially after the T20 world cup gets over as entertainment is not a priority for many viewers. In fact, they see entertainment as a luxury. The new rules mandate additional authentication for all recurring transactions. The customer will have to give a one-time password to process the transaction if the payment is more than Rs 5,000. Monthly renewals for OTT plans will also require them to approve the transactions when they are alerted about the payments. 

The new rules mandate credit card service providers to send a notification five days before the due date. The amount will be debited only after the customer approves the payment. For example, if you have a subscription to Netflix and have opted for an auto-debit, you would receive an email from the bank reminding you about the upcoming payment and a pre-debit notification 24 hours before each payment. 

The notification will have the merchant's name, amount, due date, reference number and a link to a page to allow you to check, modify or cancel the payment. 

According to Mint, a senior executive at a streaming platform said while the RBI's move may be aimed at improving transparency, it will get tedious for a user to process the transactions. "Only time will tell if we can all come up with robust mechanisms for this to go through seamlessly, the executive told the portal adding that they have started sending out messages to subscribers, worrying about the dip in the user base after the new rules. 

ALTBalaji, on the other hand, seems to have found a way out by partnering with several payment gateways. It has collaborated with platforms such as MobiKwik, Paytm, Amazon Pay, PayPal and PayPoint India. The senior vice-president, revenue and marketing of the OTT platform, Divya Dixit said that this will increase their chances of holding onto their user base and ease the process for new subscribers. ALTBalaji has also notified the users about the change in payment rules and is ensuring to regain inactive users through e-mail marketing, while also not overdoing with the notifications or reminders. 

When OTTplay reached out to Netflix, Hotstar, Voot and Amazon Prime, they were not available for comments until the time of publishing this article.