How do Channel Subscriptions Work?

Every channel has its own subscription. The plan decides how many people the channel is for, the quality it broadcasts in, how much it can store and whether it can record. You pay for each period from your Cecula Wallet.

Subscriptions don't renew automatically. Extend the subscription before its renewal date to keep the channel on air.

Plans

Open Subscription Plans in the left sidebar of My Channels to compare plans. Use Monthly and Annually to switch between monthly and annual prices.

A plan sets:

Feature	What it means
Concurrent viewers	How many people the channel is for at the same time
Maximum resolution	The highest quality the channel can broadcast in, such as 1080p
Storage	Space for media, recordings and the streaming copies made from them. You can add more with a storage add-on
Bitrate	The highest bitrate the channel's top quality is encoded at
Recording	Whether live broadcasts can be recorded. Without it, the channel has no Catchup screen

Plans may list other features in the comparison table.

Clicking Get next to a plan creates a new channel on that plan. To move an existing channel to another plan, see Change Your Plan.

Billing Periods

Billing cycle	Length of each period
Monthly	30 days
Annual	365 days

To see when the current period ends, open Settings and look at Renewal Date under Subscription Plan.

Paying from Your Cecula Wallet

• Where the money comes from: every charge is taken from the channel owner's Cecula Wallet, in naira, when you confirm it. Only the owner can pay for renewals, plan changes and storage.
• Low balance: if your balance doesn't cover the total, the dialog shows a message and a Fund Wallet button. The button opens your Cecula Wallet in a new tab. After adding money, reload the Cecula Stream page so it shows your new balance.
• Receipts: each payment is added to Invoices, and a receipt is emailed to you.

For ways to add money to your wallet, see Fund Your Cecula Wallet.

Renew or Extend

Extend an Active Subscription

1. In the channel menu, click Settings.
2. Under Subscription Plan, click Extend Plan.
3. Under Select Billing Cycle, choose MONTHLY or ANNUAL. You can switch cycles here.
4. Check Total to Pay. It includes your storage add-on, if you have one.
5. Click CONFIRM EXTENSION.

The new period is added to the end of the current one, so you don't lose any days you've already paid for.

Renew an Expired Subscription

While a subscription is expired, Settings is locked. Renew from the notice in the channel menu instead.

1. In the Subscription Expired notice, click Renew.
2. On Renew Subscription, choose a billing cycle under Select Billing Cycle.
3. Check the Checkout Summary: the plan, any storage add-on, the total and your wallet balance.
4. Click Confirm & Pay.

The new period starts today. You get an email when the channel is reactivated.

⚠️ Don't leave an expired channel too long

The Renew Subscription screen shows the number of days you have to renew, and the date. If you don't renew by then, the channel is permanently shut down.

How the Renewal Date Changes

When you pay	New renewal date
Before the subscription ends	Current renewal date + 30 or 365 days
After the subscription has ended	Today + 30 or 365 days

After a successful payment, you're taken to My Channels, which confirms Success! You are now subscribed to the …plan.

Change Your Plan

You can move a channel to a higher plan at any time. Lower plans aren't offered.

1. In the channel menu, click Settings.
2. Under Subscription Plan, click Change Plan. The button only appears when a higher plan exists.
3. Under Available Plans, choose a plan. Prices are shown for your current billing cycle.
4. Check the summary: New Plan Subtotal, Current Plan Credit, any storage add-on and Total to Pay.
5. Click CONFIRM CHANGE.

How the Credit Works

• What the credit is: the unused part of your current plan. It's the plan's price, divided by 30 (or 365), multiplied by the days left in the period.
• What it pays for: it comes off the new plan's price only. If it's larger than the new plan's price, the rest isn't refunded or carried over.
• When the new plan starts: straight away, with a fresh period of 30 or 365 days from today. Your days left are turned into the credit rather than kept.
• Storage add-on: its full price for the new period is added to the total.

For example, suppose your monthly plan costs ₦30,000 and has 10 days left. Your credit is ₦30,000 ÷ 30 × 10 = ₦10,000. Moving to a ₦50,000 monthly plan costs ₦40,000, and your new renewal date is 30 days from today.

Storage Add-ons at Renewal

A storage add-on renews with the subscription, on the same date. Whenever you extend, renew or change plan, the add-on's full price for the chosen cycle is added to the charge.

If you ticked End this add-on at my next renewal on the Storage screen, the add-on is removed at that payment and isn't charged. See How do I Manage Channel Storage?.

Expiry Reminders

The channel owner receives these emails:

When	Email
7 days before the renewal date	Reminder
2 days before	Reminder
1 day before	Reminder
When the subscription expires	Deactivation notice

Extending the subscription resets the reminders for the new renewal date.

When a Subscription Expires

• Broadcasting is deactivated. Viewers see This channel's subscription has expired. and encoders can't connect.
• Only the Overview opens. Everyone on the channel, including team members, is locked out of the other screens until it's renewed.
• You can still renew. Use the Renew button in the channel menu.

See When a Subscription Expires.

Invoices

Open Invoices in the left sidebar of My Channels to see every payment you've made and what it paid for.

Column	What it shows
Invoice	The invoice number, date and transaction reference
What It Paid For	Each item, with its type, the period it covers and its amount
Channel	The channel it was for, or Deleted channel
Amount	The total paid, and any Credit Applied
Status	Whether it was paid

Item types:

Type	Meaning
New subscription	The first period of a new channel
Renewal	An extension or renewal on the same plan
Plan change	A move to another plan
Storage add-on	A storage add-on bought part-way through a period
Storage renewal	A storage add-on renewed with the subscription

For questions about an invoice, email [email protected] and quote the invoice number.