Streaming Service Quibi Shutting Down
That was quick.
Short-form streaming service Quibi — named after a mashup of “quick bites” — is shuttering after six months on the market, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The report reveals that Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed the shutdown on Wednesday during a call to investors. Katzenberg and Quibi chief executive officer Meg Whitman had raised $1.75 billion for the start-up from investors such as Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia.
The streaming service has experienced several issues since it launched in April, mainly lower-than-expected viewership and downloads caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Quibi was initially available only on mobile devices, but the company later made the streaming service accessible through televisions due to stay-at-home orders.
Quibi was expected to be a revolutionary player in the streaming service market, differentiating itself by offering content all under 10 minutes. The streaming service broke up its content into three categories: movies told in chapters, episodic shows and daily essentials. Content included scripted and unscripted shows as well as daily news.
Although Quibi didn’t resonate with many, the streaming service managed to tap a lengthy list of today’s biggest celebrities and talent for its content, including the likes of Liam Hemsworth, Christoph Waltz, Chance the Rapper, Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas, Chrissy Teigen and many others.
We can hardly contain ourselves. What's the first thing you're watching on Quibi tomorrow?
A post shared by Quibi (@quibi) on Apr 5, 2020 at 1:04pm PDT
Quibi was also nominated for 10 Emmy Awards this September, winning two for its police drama “#FreeRayshawn,” which starred Laurence Fishburne and Jasmine Cephas Jones.
The streaming service is also enmeshed in a lawsuit with video technology firm Eko, which is claiming it should get credit for Quibi’s video streaming technology.
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