Asian Tech Press (Oct 4)-- China's three leading video platforms announced Monday that they will stop offering advance screenings after criticism from the consumer organisation.

Earlier, the China Consumers Association (CCA) issued opinions on the offering of advance screenings, saying that there should be less tricks and more sincerity, and that VIP services on video platforms should be compliant with the law and match quality and price.

The CCA said that advance screenings relies on voluntary, and that episodeepisode-by-episode restrictions should be removed.

The advance screening is a value-added service introduced by video websites that allows members to unlock episode content in advance by paying for it on top of their membership.

Tencent Video and iQIYI launched an advance screening service in the hit drama "Joy of Life" on December 12, 2019, which caused a huge controversy.

Such a membership privilege, or new model of profitability for video platforms, was still put to an end after nearly two years of practice.

The three Chinese video platform giants, iQIYI, Tencent Video and Youku, announced on social media platforms on Monday that they will cancel the advance screening service for dramas and stop updating the over-the-top offerings with immediate effect.