--- title: "What Is a Promo Code? Coupons for Streaming Services Explained" description: "A promo code gives a discount or free period on a streaming subscription or purchase. See the types, how to limit them and how to measure what they earn." url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/promo-code" markdown_url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/promo-code.md" category: "Pricing & billing" updated: "2026-10-05" --- # What is a promo code or coupon? A promo code, or coupon, is a code a viewer enters at checkout to get a discount, a free period or free access to a title. Streaming services use them to acquire subscribers, reward partners and win back people who cancelled. ## Types of promo code - Percentage or fixed amount off the first payment - Discount for a number of billing periods, such as half price for three months - Extended free trial - Free rental or purchase of a specific title - Single-use codes, each valid once, for gifts and giveaways - Shared codes, one code for everyone who hears a podcast or sees an advert ## Controls a coupon system needs - Start and end dates - A cap on total redemptions and on redemptions per customer - Restriction to new customers, or to particular plans and regions - Whether it can be combined with other offers ## Measuring a promotion Give each channel or partner its own code so you can see where subscribers came from. Then judge the code by what those subscribers were worth after the discount ended, not by the number of redemptions. Subscribers who arrive on a deep discount often leave when the price returns to normal. ## Promo code on RentAnOTT Trials, coupons and bundles are part of monetization on every RentAnOTT plan and are managed alongside plans and pricing in the CMS. [See features](https://www.rentanott.com/features). ## Related terms - [Free trial](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/free-trial) — A free trial is a limited period, commonly 7, 14 or 30 days, during which a new subscriber has full access to a streaming service before being charged. When it ends, the subscription starts automatically unless the viewer cancels. - [Content bundle](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/content-bundle) — A content bundle is a group of titles, or of whole services, sold together for a single price that is lower than buying each part separately. Examples are a film trilogy, a full season, a festival pass or two streaming services on one bill. - [CAC](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/cac) — CAC (customer acquisition cost) is the average amount a service spends on marketing and sales to gain one new paying customer. It is total acquisition spending in a period divided by the number of new customers won in that period. - [Subscription tier](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/subscription-tier) — A subscription tier is one of the plans a streaming service offers at a given price. Tiers differ in what the subscriber gets, such as video quality, simultaneous streams, downloads, the catalog included or whether ads are shown. - [Churn rate](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/churn-rate) — Churn rate is the percentage of a streaming service's subscribers who cancel or fail to renew during a period, usually a month. It is the main measure of how well a subscription service keeps its customers. - [Trial conversion rate](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/trial-conversion-rate) — Trial conversion rate is the percentage of people who start a free trial and go on to make their first payment. It measures how well a trial turns interest into paying subscribers. ## Further reading - [OTT subscription plans and tiers](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/ott-subscription-plans) - [OTT revenue calculator](https://www.rentanott.com/tools/ott-revenue-calculator) - [Pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing) ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between a coupon and a promo code? None in practice. Both are codes that apply an offer at checkout. ### Do promo codes work for in-app purchases? App stores have their own offer and promo code systems for purchases made through their billing. Codes created on your platform apply to web checkout. ### How large should a discount be? Large enough to prompt a decision. A free or half-price first month is common; permanent discounts mostly lower the price for people who would have paid in full. All 163 terms: [Streaming and OTT glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary). ## Book a demo Tell RentAnOTT what you are launching. The team walks through the platform and maps the path to go-live around your catalog, markets and revenue model. Book a demo: https://www.rentanott.com/contact ## More from RentAnOTT - [Home](https://www.rentanott.com/index.md) — What RentAnOTT is, what every plan includes, and how launch works - [Features](https://www.rentanott.com/features.md) — Every core feature and optional add-on - [Pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing.md) — Platform tiers, apps, add-ons, usage rates and example bills in INR and USD - [Free tools](https://www.rentanott.com/tools.md) — OTT app builder and calculators for streaming revenue, bandwidth, bitrate and pricing - [Insights](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs.md) — All streaming business articles - [Glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary.md) — Definitions of streaming and OTT terms - [Book a demo](https://www.rentanott.com/contact.md) — Talk to RentAnOTT about your launch Full site in one file: https://www.rentanott.com/llms-full.txt