Subscriber Management

Digital TV services require customers to subscribe to specific pricing plans, which offer a variety of service bundles tailored to different viewing preferences. These bundles can include combinations of TV channels, on-demand movies and series, DVR functionalities, and more, allowing operators to create flexible and customizable plans. This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to set up pricing plans, manage service bundles, apply discounts, and configure account settings to ensure seamless access to Digital TV services for subscribers.

Pricing Plans

In order for your customers to use Digital TV services, they must be subscribed to one of the pricing plans. Each pricing plan may include a unique set of service bundles — for example, a bundle with 50 TV channels + a bundle with the latest movies and TV series + a bundle with 10 hours of nPVR.

Creating a Pricing Plan

In the general case, to create a pricing plan you need to do the following:

1. Add the content in SmartTUBE Admin Console > Channels > Channels and/or Content > Movies/Series.
2. Create content related service bundles in Pricing plans > Bundles & Packages > [bundle type]. They may be of the following types:
   • TV — packages of TV channels available to subscribers;
   • DVR — enables TSTV & Pause Live services for selected channels and sets the duration of channel recording (channel rewind depth);
   • VoD — packages of movies and series available to subscribers. Allows to select delivery rule (SVoD, TVoD, etc.) for each movie, type of content provider (internal or external), VAST server for AVoD bundles, etc.
   • NPVR — determine the possibilities of personal recording of selected channels for subscribers. Allows to enable the recording of current and/or past programs, set the recording quota, notification about quota level, storage time of recorded content, period within which the recording of finished TV programs is allowed, etc.
   • PPV — set prices for paid (pay-per-view) TV programs. Such programs are typically marked with a special tag in the EPG imported from the EPG provider. You can set the price either for the whole program or for one minute of viewing.

Each type of bundle has its own parameters — specify them by following the hints.

3. Create auxiliary service bundles of the following type in Pricing plans > [bundle type]:
   • Device/session limit service — allows to set limits of number of devices simultaneously authorized under single service account or devices bound to the service account. So, you can offer your subscribers these limits as service packages.
   • Additional services — allows to pass the additional user-filled information (e.g. email, promocodes, subscriber suggestions, etc.) from the SmartTUBE app to the operator’s OSS/BSS when subscribing to the package.
   • Discounts — overlaps the price lists of the specified packages with its own. About setting up discounts, see here.
   • Discounts (percentage) — allows to specify the percentage of discount applied to the specified packages. About setting up discounts, see here.

Each type of bundle has its own parameters — specify them by following the hints.

To allow the bundle purchase in the SmartTUBE iOS/Android apps you should configure it in app stores: Add in-app purchase information to your apps in the store. Put the product ID of the purchase you have created into the corresponding field (Apple ID / Android ID) for the bundle. For more information about getting product IDs, please follow these links: Apple AppStore: General Info & How to configure in-app purchase Google Play Store

4. Choose the 1-stage or 2-stage billing mode for the service:
   • 1-stage — for offline subscription/purchase of a bundle or when there is no need in online interaction with the external content providers. The logic of this mode is demonstrated by this scheme.
   • 2-stage — for online interaction with the external content providers (online cinemas, content aggregators, etc.). The logic of this mode is demonstrated by this scheme.

5. Add the pricing plan including the created bundles in Pricing plans > Pricing plans. For each bundle add one or more price lists and set other rules.

For detailed information on how to add a pricing plan in the specific case, see Setting up TV Services and Setting up xVoD Services.

Discounts

The SmartTUBE offers two types of discounts that can be applied to service packages (TV, VoD, DVR, etc.):

• Overriding discounts — rewrites the price lists of the service packages with its own;
• Percentage discounts — allows to specify the percentage of discount applied to the service packages.

This guide will help you effectively apply discounts to SmartTUBE service packages.

Overriding Discounts

To apply overriding discounts to service packages, follow these steps:

1. Create a Discount:
   • Access the SmartTUBE Admin Console and go to Pricing plans > Discounts.
   • Click the Add (+) button to create a new discount.
   • Fill in the discount properties following the tooltips around the fields.
   • Save changes by clicking the Save button.

2. Add the Discount to Service Packages:
   • Go to Pricing Plans > Bundles & Packages and open the details of the package(s) you wish to discount.
   • Add the created discount to the Discount field.
   • Save changes by clicking the Save button.

3. Add the Discount to Pricing Plans:
   • Navigate to Pricing plans > Pricing plans.
   • Open the relevant pricing plan(s) containing the service packages with applied discount.
   • In the Services section, click the Add (+) button.
   • In the panel on the right, choose the created discount in the Service field.
   • Specify the Start and End date of the discount.
   • In the Price lists section, click the Add (+) button to create a price list that should overlap the price lists of the service packages with applied discount.
   • Fill in other properties as per tooltips around the fields.
   • Save changes by clicking the Save button.
   • Optionally, create multiple price lists to provide different discounts for different time periods.

Percentage Discounts

The application of this type of discount differs from Overriding ones in two key respects:

1. When creating a discount, set the discount amount as a percentage in the Discount (%) field.
2. When adding the discount to the pricing plan, there is no need to specify the price list.

Only one discount can be given per package

Change Log

SmartTUBE SDP 8.3

• New feature

Service Accounts

Creating Accounts

Service account is an object that contains all information about a subscriber and uniquely identifies it in the system. A subscriber can bind several devices — STBs, tablets, Smart TVs — to the account and use them in parallel within the limit of devices set by the operator.

To make Digital TV services available to subscribers, they must be subscribed to a tariff plan that includes the corresponding content bundles (TV, VoD) and services (PVR, DVR, PPV). You can set the bundles as active by default or allow the subscribers to activate them in the SmartTUBE app’s UI.

There are two ways to create service accounts — Manual and Automatic.

Manual Account Creation

To add or edit a service account manually, create it in Service accounts > Service accounts or click an existing one for editing. Enter account details, including:

1. Set the account State, which defines if the subscriber has the access to the services provided by the pricing plan. The table below summarizes their implications on service access within the SmartTUBE App.

State	Description
ACTIVE	A subscriber logging in to an ACTIVE account: The SmartTUBE App authorizes on the SDP, proceeds to the Home screen, and provides access to services in accordance with the pricing plan set for their service account. The ACTIVE status changes from any other state when the SmartTUBE App is running: A modal window “Account is active” with an OK button is displayed, granting the subscriber access to services according to their pricing plan.
BLOCKED	A subscriber logging in to a BLOCKED account: The SmartTUBE App starts, proceeds to the Home screen, and displays a modal window “Account is blocked” with an OK button. However, the subscriber cannot watch content. The ACTIVE status changes to BLOCKED when the SmartTUBE App is running: The content stops playing, and a toast message “Account is blocked” is displayed, indicating that the subscriber can no longer access content.
CLOSED or  DELETED	A subscriber attempts to log in to a CLOSED or DELETED account: A toast message “Service account is deleted or closed” appears on the Login screen, with no progression to the Home screen. The ACTIVE status changes to CLOSED or DELETED when the SmartTUBE App is running: An error screen “Account is closed/deleted” is displayed, which cannot be closed by the subscriber.
TRIAL CLOSED	A subscriber tries to log in to a TRIAL CLOSED account: A message “Your trial period has ended. Please register to continue the service.” is displayed under the Login button, or a toast message “Service account is deleted or closed” appears on the Login screen, preventing access to the Home screen. The ACTIVE status changes to TRIAL CLOSED when the SmartTUBE App is running: The app exits to the Login screen, displaying the message “Your trial period has ended. Please register to continue the service.”
NOT ACTIVE	A subscriber logging in to a NOT ACTIVE account: An error screen “Account is not active” is displayed, which cannot be dismissed by the subscriber. The ACTIVE status changes to NOT ACTIVE when the SmartTUBE App is running: An error screen “Account is not active” is displayed, which cannot be dismissed by the subscriber.
SUSPENDED	New accounts with a predefined connection become ACTIVE automatically when the app loads on the designated device without needing login credentials.

2. Add a pricing plan in the pane to the right, so that the subscriber can access the services provided by the operator.
3. Bind devices to the account under Connections. You need to create the login and password for every device; the subscriber enters them when starting the device for the first time, and thereby activates the device.

Devices (terminals) bound to the account manually in the Admin Console or via SmartTUBE OSS API cannot be deleted by a subscriber in the Client UI. Such devices are indicated by the field Service Accounts > Terminals > [any terminal] > Device type data source with the value Billing or API. In all other cases, the value Last authorization will be displayed.

Services Management

See the list of services that are available for the subscriber under his pricing plan in the pane to the right.

To enable or disable a service click on it. To change the End date of the service for the current subscriber click.

Automatic Account Creation

You can configure the automatic creation of a service account at the first start of a device based on the device type. To do this:

1. Create a service account template for the device type in Service accounts > Service account templates.
2. In the template, specify the device type and a pricing plan that will be applied to the automatically created service account. If there is no template with the same name as device type, the default one will be used. The service accounts will be created for the devices automatically at the first device start and the chosen pricing plan will be applied to all of them.

If the Demo mode flag is set, this template will be used only for service account creation in a demo mode. The device sends information that it was launched in the demo mode to the SmartTUBE server, and the server finds a template with the Demo mode flag set. If there is no such template, the server returns the error message.

Device & User Limit Restrictions

The SmartTUBE allows you to restrict access to the platform for subscribers with two option described below.

Restriction by the Number of Devices Simultaneously Authorized Under Single Service Account

1. To do this, open the Dictionaries > Sessions > Concurrent session limit dictionary.
2. Create a new limit with the Add (+) button.
3. Specify the Limit action which should be triggered when the subscriber tries to exceed the max number of devices receiving the service at the same time (the Quantity field):
   1. Disable content — playback of content is prohibited until the device is restarted;
   2. Exit from UI — device exits the SmartTUBE app;
   3. Unlink from group — device is unlinked from the service account.

4. Apply created limit to the service accounts in the Service accounts > Service accounts > [desired service accounts] > Session limit field (or using the SmartTUBE OSS/BSS API methods createAccount, updateAccount, and createAccountByTemplate).
5. You can also manage the sequence of deauthorization of devices by their type.For example, if the subscriber exceeds the limit on the number of sessions, you want STB to be disconnected from the service at the very last turn. To do this, setHigh in the Dictionaries > Device types > STB > Session limit priority field. This field sets the priority of deauthorization of devices of selected type linked to the account. I.e., when connecting new devices over the limit, devices with the High priority will be disconnected from the service last. Within each priority, the rule applies — the device that was authorized earlier is deauthorized first.And one more example. Suppose some service account have reached the device limit, and those devices have the

   High priority. If a new device with a  Low or Middle priority tries to authorize on that service account, it will be authorized, and the last authorized device with the High priority will be restricted.

Restriction by the Number of Devices Bound to the Service Account

1. To do this, open the Dictionaries > Devices > Device limit restrictions dictionary.
2. Create a new limit with the Add (+) button.
3. Add limits for devices of a certain type in the Limits section. This section sets the maximum quantity of devices of each type which could be linked to service accounts (devices without UID are not considered).

Do not use group device types to set restrictions. If there is no limit for a finite device type, this type is considered unlimited. If there are more than one restriction for one type, the restriction with the less quantity applies.

4. Apply created limit to the service accounts in the Service accounts > Service accounts > [desired service accounts] > Devices’ limits field (or using the  SmartTUBE OSS/BSS API methods createAccount, updateAccount, and createAccountByTemplate).

Device & Session Limits as a Service

In addition to binding to service accounts, you can provide limits to subscribers as a service. All you have to do is include them in a pricing plan. In this way, for example, subscribers with different pricing plans can have different limits.

This feature is managed in the same way as any other bundle (TV channels, VoD, DVR, etc.) — in the Pricing plans > Device/session limit service:

After filling out parameters standard for any other bundle, specify Device limit and Session limit in the right-side panel:

• If the customer unsubscribes from the Limits package, the original limits set for his account are returned.
• If you creates a new service account via OSS/BSS API method createAccount, please take into  account the following logic.

When a limit package is subscribed, SmartTUBE SDP simply copies the limits from the package to the subscriber’s account. If a subscriber’s account has already had limits set on it, SDP remembers them. This way, when the package is unsubscribed, previous limits are returned to the subscriber.

Thus, if when creating an account you want to simultaneously assign default limits to the subscriber and add a tariff plan that includes limit packages, you should

• add limits using the deviceLimit and sessionLimit params in the createAccount method and
• make sure the limit packages do not have the Default state = Not active in the subscribed tariff plan.

Profiles & Age Restrictions

If several users use the same device, they can customize the SmartTUBE app individually for themselves. Creating profiles, users can save PIN, parental restrictions, permissions to purchase content, channel sorting, viewing history, etc. For a complete list of parameters, see here.

User profiles in the SmartTUBE STB app

As an operator, you can create and manage profiles for the service account on the SmartTUBE Admin Console > Service Accounts > Service Accounts > [service account details] > Profiles tab. Moreover, you can create predefined profiles that will be automatically created along with the service account using templates (Service accounts > Profile templates). Profiles are displayed on all devices that are bound to the service account. In other words, profiles are associated with the account, not the device. You can also change password for any profile.

User profiles in the SmartTUBE Admin Console (on the service account details page)

Parental Control, Age Restrictions & Content Access Levels

Now let’s figure out how the user can restrict children’s access to adult content, for example. To do this, the user under Master profile need to create a separate profile with the following settings in the SmartTUBE app > Home screen > Settings > Profiles:

• Require PIN code — check Yes to allow a new user to log in to profile only with entering a PIN. If No, then any user will be able to log in to this profile without a PIN. Please note the following:
  • A service account always has at least one profile — a Master profile.
  • Master profile can edit the settings of any other profile (including its PIN), but cannot log in to another profile, if the user of Master profile does not know the PIN of desired profile.
  • Master profile cannot be deleted.
  • If the Master profile has a PIN, the settings of other profiles can be changed only with the PIN of the Master profile — not the PIN of these profiles. As well as their removal.
  • If the Master profile has no PIN, users of any profile can change the settings of any profile (including the Maser profile settings).
  • Each time you log in to the app or turn on the STB, you log in to the last used profile. If this profile has the Require PIN code — Yes setting, then the profile selection screen opens after launching.
• Define PIN-code — set a PIN that will be used to restrict access to this profile, purchases, subscriptions and adult content.
• Allow to subscribe & Allow to purchase —  these options are pretty clear.
• Select access level — set the maximum age rating of content this profile can watch without a PIN. Content with a higher age rating is treated as adult. Please note the following:
  • The PIN code will need to be entered each time the adult content is switched on again after returning to the Home screen or standby mode.
  • In the scenario “The user turned on the adult channel > Entered PIN > Watched the adult channel > Switched to the non-adult channel > Switched back to the adult channel” PIN re-entry is required.
  • In the scenario “The user turned on the adult channel > Entered PIN > Switched to another adult channel with the same age rating or lower” PIN re-entry is not required.
  • If the profile has the setting Require PIN code — Yes, then the user need to enter the PIN of this profile to access the adult content.
  • If the profile has the setting Require PIN code — No, then the user may enter the PIN of Master profile to access the adult content.
• Save current access level — set Yes to automatically increase the Access level of this profile to the age rating of the played adult content after entering a PIN.
  For example, if you have defined the Access level of 6+ and then started playing 12+ content and entered the correct PIN, the Access level will automatically increase to 12+. So the content with the age rating of up to 12+ inclusive will no longer require entering a PIN even after device or app restart.
• Select max access level — set the maximum age rating of content should be displayed in the TV channel list and VoD catalog. The content with a higher level will be hidden everywhere from the app’s UI. Please note the following:
  • The content with the maximum access level (age rating) specified in the SmartTUBE Admin Console > Dictionaries > Access levels dictionary is not displayed in the rails throughout the app’s UI.
  • The content with the maximum access level will not be displayed in the SmartTUBE iOS app in accordance with Apple’s policy of not displaying erotic content in any form.

Notes on Filtering Sensitive Content

• Content with the maximum access level is classified as erotic by SmartTUBE for iOS and is not displayed, in compliance with Apple’s policy prohibiting the presentation of erotic content in any form.
• To explicitly label erotic content, operators can create in the SmartTUBE Admin Console > Dictionaries > Content grouping > Content genres a dedicated genre with the Erotic content option enabled. This allows such content to be filtered by genre in SmartTUBE Apps.
• To prevent sensitive content from appearing in search results or to secure it behind a PIN in SmartTUBE Apps, operators can create a dedicated Access Level in the SmartTUBE Admin Console under Dictionaries > Access Levels, enabling the Hide from search option or Require PIN option (available starting from SmartTUBE SDP & Apps 9.4) as needed. This access level can then be applied to the relevant sensitive content.

Change Log

SmartTUBE SDP & Apps 9.4

• The Require PIN option is added to the SmartTUBE Admin Console under Dictionaries > Access Levels.