After launching just six months ago at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the time has already come for the ambitious phone-only streaming service Quibi to shut down. The idea to have a mobile phone restricted streaming service sounds okay, but launching in the unfortunate time when everybody is at home with televisions, there was not as much demand to stream shows through a mobile device. It’s some unfortunate timing for the streaming service.
You can try to polish it up however you like, but the news remains true: Quibi is dead. It comes after the company managed to get over $1.8bn from investors upon its launch in April, and even beginning with a promising amount of downloads. Some popular shows included Most Dangerous Game, When the Streetlights Go On, Wireless, and 50 States of Fright.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qagUU-mAqI8
A major reason Quibi is shutting down could simply be that episodes were generally around five to ten minutes long. The service created shows specifically designed for those who watch content on the go. Sadly, during a pandemic, there isn’t much traveling happening as there usually would be. Maybe people just didn’t feel the need to sign up for yet another streaming service. It is a very saturated market!
In a blog post tailored towards those who believed in the idea, Quibi confirmed the disappointing news:
Quibi is not succeeding. 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 specific reasoning will likely remain a mystery, but The Wall Street Journal reports that, after tirelessly trying and save it through further funding, founder Jeffrey Katzenberg eventually gave up. Thus, the short life of Quibi, a streaming service who’s selling point was shorts, is now over.
Maybe in other times, it might have lasted longer, or it could be that the idea was just plain bad. Who knows? What do you think? Tell me in the comments below!
