Red Star Capital Bureau reported on July 16th that iQiyi responded to the issue of "basic members cannot skip video opening advertisements" today, stating that the purpose of basic members is to provide more choices for users who can accept watching more advertisements but hope for lower prices.
screenshot from Weibo
IQiyi stated that iQiyi Basic Membership is a membership product that was first launched on iQiyi Express Edition in 2021, which is cheaper than iQiyi Gold Membership. Currently, it is gradually being tested and launched on multiple products such as iQiyi APP. Basic members have a monthly subscription of 15 yuan, which is 10 yuan cheaper than gold members who have a monthly subscription. They can watch all VIP member content but do not enjoy the right of gold members to skip pre video ad placement. IQiyi stated that users can see the price and service differences between basic and gold members on the subscription page before making a purchase, and can choose according to their needs.
Recently, several consumers expressed that iQiyi basic members cannot skip the 120 second advertisement at the beginning of a video, and this matter immediately became a hot topic on Weibo. IQiyi customer service has stated that basic members can watch member content normally and only support single device use, without the right to skip opening and ending advertisements.
According to the official website information, iQiyi members are currently divided into three levels: basic VIP, gold VIP, and platinum VIP. The monthly subscription price for basic VIP is 15 yuan/month, for gold VIP it is 25 yuan/month, and for platinum VIP it is 35 yuan/month. Basic VIP does not enjoy advertising privileges.
According to a previous report by Red Star Capital Bureau, in January 2023, the iQiyi app began to restrict the screen mirroring function. Previously, the Gold VIP member supported the highest 4K resolution screen mirroring, but now only the lowest 480P resolution can be selected. To perform 4K screen mirroring, a Platinum VIP member must be purchased. As a result, a user sued iQiyi in court. In July of this year, the first instance of the case was overturned, and iQiyi was ordered to compensate the plaintiff for 41 days of VIP membership time as a golden member.
Red Star News reporter Yu Yao intern reporter Zeng Han
