Quibi We Hardly Knew Ye: Why the Streaming Service Called It Quits
Short-form video streamer Quibi was supposed to be boffo. That happened even as 9.1% of U.S. households took on new streaming subscriptions during the same period. People bailed on Quibi because the platform wasn’t easy of use, they found videos lagging and buffering too often—and the shows weren’t consistently good. Overall, the company saw streaming use jump by 40%. NBCUniversal’s new Peacock streaming service, by contrast, claimed 17.2% of new streaming subscriptions in the year’s third quarter, according to Kantar.
thewestsidegazette.comQuibi's founder and CEO explain what went wrong
Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman told CNBC on Thursday that a convergence of factors led to the failure of the short-form entertainment service for mobile phones. I think we thought there would be easier adoption by people to it," Katzenberg said in an interview with Julia Boorstin. The company raised $1.75 billion in funding ahead of its launch, and investors included Disney, Comcast's NBCUniversal and AT&T's WarnerMedia. It's the only thing I know how to do and I've got a lot to prove," Katzenberg said. Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBCCorrection: Meg Whitman is CEO of Quibi and was not a co-founder.
cnbc.comShort-video app Quibi shutting down just months after launch
Short-video app Quibi said it is shutting down just six months after its early April launch, having struggled to find customers. Being stuck at home made TV more desirable than watching on a phone, and Quibi only later and slowly rolled out TV options. "Likely for one of two reasons: because the idea itself wasn’t strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service or because of our timing,” Katzenberg and Whitman wrote. Mobile research firm Sensor Tower estimates 9.6 million installations of Quibi’s mobile app since its launch; that doesn't mean those are actually users. Other streaming services have benefited from having customers stuck at home during the pandemic.
Quibi officially announces it's shutting down
Quibi, the short-form entertainment service for mobile devices, announced on Wednesday that it will shut down, just over six months after its service launched. Investors in Quibi included legacy media companies like Disney, Comcast's NBCUniversal, and AT&T's WarnerMedia. Likely for one of two reasons: because the idea itself wasn't strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service or because of our timing," the said. Since then, reports surfaced that Katzenberg and Whitten were seeking additional funding to keep Quibi afloat as subscriber numbers failed to meet expectations. The company faced a lawsuit from the interactive video company Eko, which claimed Quibi violated Eko's patents for mobile video technology.
cnbc.comNomination surprises: 'The Mandalorian,' Quibi get Emmy love
The program was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding drama series on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. (Disney Plus via AP)NEW YORK The Emmy Award nominations announced Tuesday included some snubs and surprises. But it also earned Disney+ a nod for guest actor in a drama series for Giancarlo Esposito and a spot in the best drama race. AIRING JORDANMichael Jordan proved his competitive pull once more as the ESPN documentary The Last Dance earned three Emmy nominations. Homeland over its run has won eight Emmy awards for outstanding drama series, writing, editing and casting, among the trophies.
Film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg: Movie industry 'ready to embrace' at-home viewing and theaters
Film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg said Friday he doesn't think the movie industry has to choose between releasing movies on the big screen or debuting them on streaming services. In fact, Katzenberg said he believes the film industry is "ready to embrace" the idea that a healthy movie theater business does not have to come "at the exclusion" of access to movies at home. Katzenberg's comments come at a time of disruption for the film industry due to the coronavirus. Katzenberg used a sport analogy to describe where the movie industry was headed, arguing the embrace of in-person sports and TV broadcasts has been successful despite hesitancy decades ago. To that end, Katzenberg said he thinks the industry will continue to embrace at-home viewing while maintaining an "out-of-home" experience for "high-end, big broad entertaining movies."
cnbc.comQuibi streaming service will cost $5 a month with ads, or $8 without
Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed the final details of their streaming service Quibi Wednesday. The service will launch on April 6 for $4.99 per month with ads or $7.99 per month for an ad-free version. Whitman, Quibi's CEO, unveiled the service during a keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas. Instead of full-length shows, Quibi plans to set itself apart by targeting mobile users who can stream short episodes of programming that will run under 10 minutes. Quibi has signed on ten advertising partners for launch, Whitman said Wednesday, including Procter & Gamble, Walmart, PepsiCo, Google, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Progressive.
cnbc.comQuibi adds '60 Minutes' to growing roster of news partnerships
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - "60 Minutes" is the latest big name news brand to partner up with Quibi -- the upcoming and much-discussed short-form streaming service from Hollywood and Silicon Valley giants Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. CBS News and Quibi on Tuesday announced a licensing agreement that will bring a new news show called "60 in 6" to the streaming service. Each episode of the weekly series will be six minutes in length and will include a "wide range of compelling stories," according to the network. The new ESPN Quibi show will feature "daily episodes and breaking news covering the biggest stories in sports," the network said Monday. Quibi, which stands for "Quick Bites," will offer videos that are 10 minutes or less in length and created for viewing on mobile phones.
Short clips, big risk: Startup wants to turn streaming on its head
It's entering a market that's already overrun by short-form content from the likes of YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, which is mostly free of cost. "I'm not sure we have much historic evidence that a younger demo is willing to pay much for short-form mobile video," Hare said. Katzenberg and Whitman are also taking a big risk releasing Quibi in the middle of the streaming wars. But, according to Whitman, Quibi isn't here to compete with Netflix, Disney+ or HBO Max. "If this becomes the must-have content service for the mobile generation, that would be a game changer."
Jim Parsons honored with Hollywood Walk of Fame star
Jim Parsons honored with Hollywood Walk of Fame star The four-time Emmy winner and star of the CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory" thanked his family during the ceremony. Series producer Chuck Lorre and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg were on hand for the ceremony.
cbsnews.com