Quibi

Quibi (/ˈkwɪbi/ KWIB-ee) is an over-the-top American short-form streaming platform that generates content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in August 2018, in Los Angeles, as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and is led by Meg Whitman, its CEO.

Quibi
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
OTT platform
FoundedAugust 2018 (2018-08)
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Area servedUnited States
Canada
United Kingdom (limited)
Australia (limited)
Germany (limited)
Founder(s)Jeffrey Katzenberg
Key peopleMeg Whitman (CEO)
URLwww.quibi.com
LaunchedApril 6, 2020 (2020-04-06)

History

Pre-launch

Quibi was founded in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and is led by Meg Whitman, its CEO.[1] In October 2018, NewTV was renamed Quibi.[2][3] The service targets a younger demographic with content delivered in 10-minute episodes called "quick bites".[4] In 2018, Quibi raised $1 billion in funding from major Hollywood film studios, TV companies, telecommunications companies, technology companies, banks, and other investors including; The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox (now owned by Disney), NBCUniversal (owned by Comcast), Sony Pictures, Time Warner (now owned by AT&T as WarnerMedia), Viacom (now merged with CBS to form ViacomCBS), eOne (owned by Hasbro), Lionsgate, MGM, Madrone Capital, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Alibaba Group, Liberty Global and ITV.[5][6]

On July 8, 2019, BBC Studios announced it had invested in Quibi.[7][8]

In March 2020, Quibi announced a partnership with Canadian telecommunications company BCE, whereby its Bell Media division will produce Canadian news and sports content for the service (via CTV News and TSN respectively), and Bell Mobility will be Quibi's exclusive Canadian telecom marketing partner.[9]

Launch

Quibi launched on April 6, 2020.[10] It was available in the United States and Canada.[11] An ad-free version was made available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Germany on April 6, 2020.[12][13][14] On April 14, the company announced it had seen 1.7 million downloads of its app in its release week.[15][16]

Quibi's app fell out of the list of the 50 most downloaded free iPhone apps in the United States a week after it was released. According to the analytics firm Sensor Tower, by early May, the app was ranked 125th. Sensor Tower also said the app had been installed by 2.9 million customers, although Quibi says the figure was closer to 3.5 million. Of those who had installed the app, Quibi says 1.3 million were active users. Katzenberg acknowledged the performance was "not close to what we wanted... I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus," referring to the COVID-19 pandemic that was disrupting daily routines at the time of the launch.[17] Whitman was more positive in her assessment of the launch.[11] Moves were made to adjust the service by allowing users to share content on social media platforms and to watch shows on televisions in addition to phones.[17]

By early June, the company had reportedly reduced its staffing levels, and the app had fallen out of the top 1,000 apps on Sensor Tower's rankings.[18] That same month, it was reported that the service was on track for 2 million subscribers in its first year, far below its projected 7.4 million total, and was searching for new investors.[19] Additionally, in July 2020, Sensor Tower reported that about 8 percent of Quibi's early wave of users had converted into paying subscribers.[20]

Eko lawsuits

In March 2020, interactive video developer Eko filed a lawsuit alleging that Quibi stole proprietary technology after Eko demonstrated it to Quibi's employees, including Katzenberg.[21][22] Quibi filed its own lawsuit the previous day, which sought a declaration that Quibi did not infringe on Eko's patented technology, as well as an order that Eko withdraw a complaint filed with Apple's App Store and unspecified monetary damages.[23] On the 3rd of May, Elliott Management announced that it would fund Eko's lawsuit in exchange for equity in the company.[24]

Quibi pre-emptively filed its lawsuit, Quibi Holdings, LLC v. Interlude US, Inc. (d/b/a Eko),[25] on March 9, 2020, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Eko filed its own separate but related countersuit, JBF Interlude 2009 Ltd - Israel v. Quibi Holdings, LLC,[26] a day later on March 10.[27]

Content
Main article: List of Quibi original programming

Quibi plans to spend $1.1 billion on commissioning original content in its first year, totalling 8,500[28] short-form episodes and including over 175 shows.[29]

Unlike many streaming video platforms, Quibi's content is made specifically to be streamed only on mobile devices and can be viewed in either horizontal or vertical video, with the user able to shift between them in the same video. Instead of half-hour TV episodes or two-hour films, content on Quibi is delivered in episodes of 10 minutes or less.[30][31]

Quibi commissioned significant news programming in addition to its entertainment line-up, but it found the news shows attracted minimal interest.[17]

References
  1. Lee, Wendy (December 5, 2018). "Quibi aims to launch 5,000 'quick bite' videos when it debuts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  2. "Jeffrey Katzenberg's Shortform Video Venture Gets New Name, Lines Up Projects From Guillermo del Toro, Antoine Fuqua". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  3. Chmielewski, Dawn C.; Chmielewski, Dawn C. (October 10, 2018). "Jeffrey Katzenberg And Meg Whitman Unveil Name Of NewTV: Quibi (Short For Quick Bites)". Deadline. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  4. Otterson, Joe (June 9, 2019). "Jeffrey Katzenberg, Meg Whitman Offer Details on Quibi Launch, Pricing". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  5. Spangler, Todd (August 7, 2018). "Jeffrey Katzenberg's 'NewTV' Startup Closes $1 Billion, All Major Studios Among Investors". Variety. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  6. Sweney, Mark (August 7, 2018). "ITV joins Hollywood giants to back video streaming service for mobiles". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  7. Goldbart2019-07-08T09:00:00, Max. "BBC Studios invests in Quibi". Broadcast. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  8. Clarke, Stewart; Clarke, Stewart (July 8, 2019). "BBC Studios Invests in Short-Form Platform Quibi". Variety. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  9. Malik, Aisha (March 5, 2020). "Bell exclusively partners with Quibi to provide daily news, sports content for the streaming service". MobileSyrup.com. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  10. Sperling, Nicole (June 14, 2019). "What Is Jeffrey Katzenberg's Quibi All About, and Why Should You Care?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  11. Business, Frank Pallotta, CNN. "Quibi, Netflix's weirdest rival, is off to a rough start". CNN. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  12. "Short-form streaming app launches to rival Netflix". BBC News. April 7, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  13. Edwards, Richard; April 2020, Samuel Roberts 06. "Quibi: free trial, price, exclusive shows and how to sign up". TechRadar. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  14. "Quibi streaming service launches, unexpectedly, in Australia". NewsComAu. April 6, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  15. Richwine, Lisa (April 14, 2020). "Short-format streaming service Quibi reports 1.7 million downloads in its first week". Platform Executive. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  16. "Quibi reaches 1.7m downloads in the first week". BBC News. April 13, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  17. Sperling, Nicole (May 11, 2020). "Jeffrey Katzenberg Blames Pandemic for Quibi's Rough Start". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  18. Nathan, Sara (June 3, 2020). "Quibi staffers seethe at Reese Witherspoon's $6M payday amid layoffs". Page Six. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  19. Allie Gemmill (June 15, 2020). "Quibi Is on Track to… Miss a Year One Subscriber Goal by 5 Million". Collider. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  20. Statt, Nick (July 8, 2020). "Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired". The Verge. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  21. Yasiejko, Christopher (March 9, 2020). "Quibi Sues to Block Patent-Infringement Suits Over 'Turnstyle'". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  22. Alexander, Julia (March 11, 2020). "Quibi is already locked in a legal battle over its rotating video tech". The Verge. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  23. Hipes, Patrick; Patten, Dominic (March 9, 2020). "Quibi Fighting With Eko Over "Turnstyle" Tech Ahead Of Mobile Site's April Launch". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  24. Goldsmith, Jill (May 3, 2020). "Stakes Jump In Quibi Legal Fight As Ellliott Management Finances Eko Lawuit Against Jeffrey Katzenberg-Founded Streamer – Report". Deadline. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  25. "Complaint, Quibi Holdings, LLC v. Interlude US, Inc. (2:20-cv-02250)" (PDF). Court Listener. March 9, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  26. "JBF Interlude 2009 Ltd - Israel v. Quibi Holdings, LLC (2:20-cv-02299)". Court Listener. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  27. Spangler, Todd (March 10, 2020). "Quibi Sued by Eko for Patent Infringement, Theft of Trade Secrets". Variety. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  28. Vineyard, Jennifer (March 6, 2020). "Quibi Is Coming. Here Are the Famous People Making Shows for It". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  29. Spangler, Todd (June 19, 2019). "Quibi Has Already Booked $100 Million in Ad Sales, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman Say". Variety. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  30. Patel, Sahil (June 5, 2019). "Mobile-only: Quibi will be exclusively mobile, dropping early plans for TV apps". Digiday. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  31. VanArendonk, Kathryn. "Yep, Quibi Is Bad". Vulture. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
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