quibi.com
With the recent surge in popularity of apps like Tik Tok that serve up short video content, it seems like investors are rushing to jump on the bite-sized content bandwagon. ?The shorter, the better? seems to be the calling card for those looking to reach a younger demographic. But is this truly a recipe for success, catering to dwindling attention spans?
Despite public interest not quite keeping up with projections and anticipation, there have been many unforeseeable events that coincided with Quibi's launch. Some of these events went against the business model Quibi was built on.
I'm talking about course the COVID-19 pandemic. Quibi, as opposed to the traditional half-hour TV episodes and 2-hour movies, has chosen to exclusively traffic in short-form content; 10-minute TV shows, for instance. This easily digestible, quickly consumed model for content was heavily marketed as a way to stymie boredom while, say, to wait in line or to need to kill some quick time while you are out.
However, with the pandemic came social distancing orders and intensive quarantining. So, the last thing that people wanted or needed was short-form content. The very moments of boredom that Quibi was created to address are, for the time being, nonexistent. With hours of solitude to kill, the last thing people were interested in were 10-minute videos on a new premium streaming service they are unfamiliar with.
Which may, at first glance, seem ironic when one considers how TikTok, an app that specializes in short-form content (even shorter form than Quibi, actually), has become an overnight staple of social media. However, TikTok is participatory which is one of the biggest reasons, I think, that people have gravitated towards it during this extended quarantine.
Tik Tok asks you to create something yourself. It is a hands-on experience, and it's active. Quibi, on the other hand, is another passively consumed streaming service - people have seemed content with their Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime subscriptions with so many hours to fill. Then there's the social nature of Tik Tok - another component that Quibi is missing. Which, in my mind, is very shocking. To see Quibi neglect its potential as a social media streaming service when social media is king and short-form content is made for social media, is astonishing. Especially when you look at how much money went into Quibi (and from whom it came).
Quibi made a big deal of its launch, gaining tons of celebrity endorsements and putting on one of the most extravagant launches from an unknown company that we have ever seen in the tech space. Although it is clear that the initial numbers are nowhere near what was expected, it looks like more money is going to continue to be invested in Quibi in the next year to come. However, I am not willing to say quite yet that Quibi has failed. It is worth investing your money in, in the form of a monthly subscription fee? Let's take a look, shall we?
History
Quibi, an American film producer and media proprietor, founded the company in August of 2018. Meg Whitman, who took over as CEO shortly thereafter, raised $1 billion from eleven separate investors in 2018 during Quibi's first round of funding. These investors included major Hollywood film and TV studios such as The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, NBC Universal, Viacom CBS, Warner Media, Liberty Global, and Alibaba Group.
Quibi has since expanded its international reach, announcing a partnership with Canadian telecommunications company BCE. This will allow Bell Media's division to produce Canadian news and sporting content. Bell Mobility will be Quibi's exclusive telecom marketing partner.
Quibi officially launched in the United States and Canada on April 6, 2020. Within its first week, Quibi saw 1.7 million downloads of its app. Within one week after its release, however, Quibi fell out of the top 50 most downloaded iPhone apps in the US. By early May, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower, Quibi was ranked 125th on the App Store. In contrast with Quibi?s own numbers, Sensor Tower reports that Quibi was downloaded by 2.9 million users while Quibi boasts 3.5 million downloads according to their own numbers
Regardless of what the number is more accurate, Quibi claims that it currently has 1.3 million active monthly users. Katzenberg himself has acknowledged that this level of performance was not close to what we wanted, going on to say, ?I attribute everything that has gone wrong to the Coronavirus.? I suppose only time will tell, however, whether the pandemic truly is to blame for Quibi?s lackluster performance.
Design
I think that Quibi's design is really nice for smartphones. It's easy to use, fast, and interesting. I always appreciate it when a streaming app provides a different way to look at the content. This is what Quibi has done well.
From here, you can: - Add it to your watchlist
- Watch the episode right away
- Get more information about the show and related content (including quizzes and videos) by tapping on the info icon
Instead of providing tiles or thumbnails of show episodes, for the main section of Quibi's new app, For You: Quibi has opted for a very intuitive newsfeed-like swiping model - again, much like that of Tik Tok. Based on your preferences and your viewing habits, simply swipe up and down through titles. Find a series or special that you are interested in? Simply tap into it to begin playing. Alternately, tap on the text of the title to find a menu. From here, you can: - Add it to your watchlist
- Watch the episode right away
- Get more information about the show and related content (including quizzes and videos) by tapping on the info icon
From here, you can choose More Info and Episodes, Follow, Download, Share, Not Interested, or Play. Everything about this app is designed for smartphones or tablets, making it perfect for content. The design is fitting and easy to use for the content.
Content and Features
Most people know that Quibi is all about short, quick bites of content. The majority of what you'll find on the site are shows that are devoted to pop culture stuff. For example, there's a show called Chrissy's Court which is a spoof of Judge Judy and other similar shows. There's also a show called Punk'd starring Chance the Rapper which was recently rebooted. And finally, there's a show called Kirby Jenner which takes a different perspective on reality TV stars like the Kardashians.
Quibi also offers news segments by NBC, BBC, Vox, ESPN, Telemundo, TMZ, Entertainment Weekly, E-News, Rotten Tomatoes, and iHeart Radio (to name a few). My takeaway is that Quibi has a lot of pop culture forward content. However, there is also some content here for everyone - assuming you don't mind only short-form content.
Quibi also offers high definition streaming (with the ability to toggle quality), a minimizing data feature, left-handed mode (which changes the orientation of the whole app to better suit lefties), a completely personalized curation of shows, and the ability to download content for offline watching.
Pricing and Plans
If you're interested in using Quibi, you'll have to register for one of the following payment plans: a 2-week trial, a monthly subscription, or a yearly subscription.
With an ad-supported plan, you'll only be billed $4.99 per month for access to our entire website, including all of our interactive features. You won't have to worry about ads interrupting your browsing experience or data usage.
Get a month of ad-free browsing when you sign up for Ad-Free.
I don't think $7.99 is a bit pricey for 10-minute episodes of shows, but that's just my opinion. If you're looking for more substance in your shows, then Quibi might not be the best option for you. But with new shows being added every day, it's definitely worth the price if you don't mind shorter content.
Suggestions that I have for Quibi
I would love to see Quibi become more accessible on other devices. The fact that Quibi isn't compatible with ChromeCast is ridiculous to me. I understand that this service is primarily for smartphone viewing, but if I want to cast a 10-minute Quibi episode to my Smart TV, I should be able to do so without any difficulty.
I think that Quibi should consider adding some syndicated television content (even if that content is longer than 10 minutes). I think that it can still be Quibi's "thing," so to speak, to offer short-form content, but that doesn't mean that they have to neglect the whole of TV that has come before it, right?
Finally, Quibi needs to embrace some form of social media features in order to survive.
Popular search queries
