Quibi

Quibi

Company type	Private
Industry	Streaming media
Founded	1 August 2018 (2018-08-01) in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Founder	Jeffrey Katzenberg
Defunct	December 1, 2020 (2020-12-01)
Fate	Shut down; content acquired by Roku, Inc.
Headquarters	Los Angeles , United States
Area served	United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Germany, New Zealand
Key people	Jeffrey Katzenberg (Founder), Meg Whitman (CEO)
Products	Short-form video streaming service

Quibi ( ) was a U.S.-based streaming service specializing in short-form video content designed primarily for mobile devices. Established in Los Angeles in August 2018 under the name NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and managed by CEO Meg Whitman, the venture secured $1.75 billion in investment capital. It officially launched in April 2020 but ceased operations by December 2020 after failing to attract the anticipated subscriber base. In January 2021, the platform’s content assets were acquired by Roku, Inc. for less than $100 million. Quibi’s pioneering approach coupled with its swift downfall attracted widespread critique within the industry and serves as a notable example of strategic missteps in streaming media.

Pre-launch

The company originated in August 2018 as NewTV, founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg with Meg Whitman appointed as CEO. By October 2018, the name was changed to Quibi, reflecting its focus on delivering brief, 10-minute episodes—termed "quick bites"—aimed at a younger audience. Throughout 2018, Quibi amassed $1 billion from a broad coalition of investors including leading Hollywood studios, television networks, telecom providers, technology firms, financial institutions, and others such as The Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, WarnerMedia, Viacom, RTL Group, FremantleMedia, eOne, Lionsgate Studios, MGM, Madrone Capital Partners, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Alibaba Group, Liberty Global, and ITV.

In 2019, Quibi announced its planned launch for April 2020 featuring two subscription tiers. On July 8 of that year, BBC Studios became an investor. By the end of 2019, Quibi had sold all its advertising inventory for the first year, valued at $150 million.

At CES in early 2020, Quibi revealed comprehensive launch strategies encompassing content plans, technological innovations, and strategic partnerships. In March 2020, Quibi entered into a collaboration with Canadian telecom giant BCE Inc., where Bell Media produced localized news and sports content through CTV News and TSN respectively; Bell Mobility was designated as Quibi’s exclusive telecom marketing partner within Canada.

Launch

Quibi officially debuted on April 6, 2020, initially accessible in the U.S. and Canada. Concurrently, an ad-free version was introduced in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Germany. On launch day alone, the app garnered 300,000 downloads and ranked third on the App Store charts. Within seven days post-launch, downloads surged to 1.7 million; however, on Google Play Store it peaked at only the eleventh position by April 16.

Despite initial interest, Quibi rapidly declined in popularity on iPhone’s free app rankings in the U.S., falling out of the top 50 by early May and landing at number 125 with an estimated download range between 2.9 million and 3.5 million but only about 1.3 million active users. CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg cited pandemic-related shifts in consumer behavior as a primary factor for underwhelming performance while co-founder Meg Whitman maintained a more hopeful outlook.

To counteract declining engagement, Quibi introduced new functionalities such as enabling users to share content across social media platforms and cast programming from mobile devices to televisions via AirPlay and Chromecast with default landscape viewing mode. Additionally, the service incorporated a proprietary screenshot feature.

By June 2020, facing slower-than-expected growth rates, Quibi’s leadership voluntarily reduced their salaries. The platform’s subscriber projections were adjusted downward to approximately two million within the first year compared to an original goal of 7.4 million subscribers. Between January and mid-June of that year, Quibi secured an extra $750 million in funding. Reports from July indicated trial-to-paid subscriber conversion rates fluctuating between 8% and 27%, although some figures were contested by Quibi.

In August 2020, Quibi rolled out a free ad-supported version in Australia and New Zealand while simultaneously reducing prices for its ad-free subscription tier. By September reports surfaced that Quibi was considering acquisition offers or alternative financial arrangements amid having roughly $200 million in liquid assets.

October saw Quibi broaden its platform availability by launching apps on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Google TV devices in an effort to expand its user base despite persistent operational challenges.

Shutdown

On October 21, 2020, merely half a year following its debut, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Quibi would be closing down. Later that day, founders Katzenberg and Whitman publicly confirmed this outcome. Katzenberg explained to Deadline Hollywood that continuing operations would only drain additional funds without generating meaningful returns, labeling it as an irresponsible choice toward investors. He also pointed to the unfortunate timing of launching amid the pandemic as a contributing challenge. At the time of the closure announcement, Quibi had approximately 500,000 subscribers.

This shutdown created ambiguity regarding the fate of Quibi’s original productions since the company did not hold ownership of content rights; creators maintained copyrights and were free to redistribute their work elsewhere after a designated period. On October 22, it was declared that Quibi would officially terminate its services "on or around" December 1.

Fate of the library

By January 3, 2021, Roku had entered advanced negotiations to acquire rights to Quibi’s content catalog. On January 8, Roku publicly confirmed that all 75 Quibi programs would be made available on The Roku Channel. The acquisition cost was under $100 million and required that the content remain in its original short-form style. The series were rebranded as "Roku Originals," with an initial relaunch of 30 titles occurring on May 20, 2021.

Content

Quibi committed over $1 billion during its inaugural year to fund original programming, resulting in the production of 8,500 short episodes spanning more than 175 series. Its offerings were specifically tailored for mobile consumption, featuring episodes shorter than 10 minutes and supporting both horizontal (16:9) and vertical (9:16) viewing orientations.

Despite a robust entertainment slate, Quibi’s news segments attracted limited viewer engagement. In July 2020, Quibi earned 10 Emmy nominations in short-form categories, with its show #FreeRayshawn securing two Emmy wins in September.

Significantly, Quibi turned down pitches from prominent creators including Reed Duchscher's Night Media for MrBeast’s content and Rad Sechrist’s Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, missing chances to broaden its creator portfolio.

Reception

The response to Quibi was varied. While many original shows received favorable critiques, the platform faced backlash for its subscription-based, mobile-only approach, which restricted accessibility compared to popular free services like YouTube and TikTok. A November 2020 article in The Wall Street Journal attributed the shutdown largely to miscalculations regarding programming appeal and technology usage among younger audiences, coupled with excessive advertising expenditures. The flawed business model and swift collapse led to widespread ridicule, including parodies on shows such as the sitcom Royal Crackers.

Legal issues

On March 9, 2020, Quibi initiated legal action against interactive video developer Eko, seeking a judicial declaration that it had not infringed upon Eko's patented "Turnstyle" technology and demanding Eko retract a complaint filed with Apple's App Store, along with unspecified damages. This lawsuit, titled Quibi Holdings, LLC v. Interlude US, Inc., was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The following day, Eko responded with a countersuit accusing Quibi of misappropriating proprietary technology after demonstrations provided to Quibi personnel including Jeffrey Katzenberg.

On May 3, 2020, Elliott Management announced its financial backing of Eko’s lawsuit in return for equity stakes in Eko, escalating the legal dispute further.