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Cross-platform subscriptions
Hi,I'm creating an app which allows users to register with my service on any number of devices (web, Android, Roku, iOS, Apple TV), and then purchase a monthly subscription to watch video content. The subscription provides access to the entire catalog. I have my own subscription management API running on a server which I'd like to leverage as the source of truth so users can purchase a subscription on their Roku device, login to the app on iPad, and continue watching where they left off.Basically, Netflix.To pull this off in Apple's ecosystem, I have two options as far as I can tell:Non-renewing subscriptions: users purchase the subscription inside the app though IAP. Once purchase is complete, the app sync’s the subscription to my back-end system. The app interfaces with my back-end any time an entitlement check is required. When a user’s subscription is about to expire, the app must present purchase workflow again.Skip IAP altogether and require users to subscribe via web.It looks like auto-renewable subscriptions were designed for selling subscriptions to my type of content (video), but I don't see how I could use them because the subscription must be created and managed inside of iTunes, and there are no APIs available for another platform to check the status of a subscription, nor are there webhooks to notify by system when actions occur (subscription, cancelation, etc).Am I missing a third option or did I outline this accurately? I'm really curious how Netflix is pulling this off.Thanks!
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Oct ’15