Short-form streaming platform Quibi to shut down [confirmed]

Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2020
Less than a day after landing on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Fire stick, and Android TV, Quibi will be shutting down services after all.

Short-form streaming platform Quibi to shut down


Launched in April, Quibi touted itself as a breakthrough streaming medium for the on-the-go generation. The service offered 5- to 10-minute long "chapters," in a format that was optimized for viewing on a smartphone.

However, as the coronavirus forced many indoors, the demand for on-the-go entertainment dwindled. The service even attempted to make jumps to larger screens through other streaming hardware, including smart TVs and set-top boxes like the Apple TV.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg has called investors to inform them that the service would be shutting down.

Quibi had originally reached out to Apple in hopes that the Cupertino-based tech giant would buy them out. However, Apple's senior vice president of internet software and services, Eddy Cue, turned Katzenberg down.

With some $2 billion invested, Quibi expected to reach seven million subscribers after one year. It is currently estimated to have between 400,000 and 500,000 paying subscribers, some of whom received a free subscription through a T-Mobile promotion.

Update: Hours after the WSJ broke, Katzenberg and Quibi CEO Meg Whitman confirmed the shutdown in an open letter to employees, investors and partners.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    Didn’t this thing make it to Apple TV a couple days ago? Yikes!

    This has a been a T-Mobile Tuesday freebie for a few weeks and I had no interest. 
    ronngregoriusmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 14
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,821member
    yeah I guess vertical video on a widescreen TV wasn't a good idea either.
    gregoriusmwilliamhrobin hubermacpluspluswatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 14
    williamh said:
    Didn’t this thing make it to Apple TV a couple days ago? Yikes!

    This has a been a T-Mobile Tuesday freebie for a few weeks and I had no interest. 
    Less than a day after landing on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Fire stick, and Android TV, Quibi will be shutting down services after all.

    It’s right there on the very first paragraph. Reading pass the headline isn’t that hard. 

    svanstromBeatsJapheylolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 14
    It’s hard not to have schadenfreude about this as it was very much a “emperor’s new suit” situation. The company’s investors were duped by a self-delusional egomaniac and almost anyone with any industry savvy knew this venture would fail hard. They are just lucky that they launched this year so that they could blame their failure on the pandemic when in reality it was doomed from the start.
    lolliverfastasleepcat52watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 14
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    I know everyone wants to poke fun but there has to be some talent here Apple can pick up?


    firelock said:
    It’s hard not to have schadenfreude about this as it was very much a “emperor’s new suit” situation. The company’s investors were duped by a self-delusional egomaniac and almost anyone with any industry savvy knew this venture would fail hard. They are just lucky that they launched this year so that they could blame their failure on the pandemic when in reality it was doomed from the start.

    I always felt the company was made to later shop for an acquisition.
    lolliverfirelock
  • Reply 6 of 14
    Beats said:
    I know everyone wants to poke fun but there has to be some talent here Apple can pick up?
    LOL who? Whitman herself even said she wasn't a big fan of "entertainment", whatever that means. Katzenberg modeled the whole thing after his own ridiculous multi-lunch meeting schedule that isn't reflective of any normal person. What evidence do you have that there's anyone in this doomed company worth picking up out of the wreckage?
    stompyforgot usernamewatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 14
    Who could have foreseen this? Everybody. 
    zeus423SpamSandwichwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 14
    Beats said:
    I know everyone wants to poke fun but there has to be some talent here Apple can pick up?
    LOL who? Whitman herself even said she wasn't a big fan of "entertainment", whatever that means. Katzenberg modeled the whole thing after his own ridiculous multi-lunch meeting schedule that isn't reflective of any normal person. What evidence do you have that there's anyone in this doomed company worth picking up out of the wreckage?
    And the content creators are not tied to the company, either. And they only have two-year exclusivity on what they did produce.
    forgot usernamewatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 14
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,267member
    Meg Whitman. Nuff said.
    forgot usernamewatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 14
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Beats said:
    I know everyone wants to poke fun but there has to be some talent here Apple can pick up?
    LOL who? Whitman herself even said she wasn't a big fan of "entertainment", whatever that means. Katzenberg modeled the whole thing after his own ridiculous multi-lunch meeting schedule that isn't reflective of any normal person. What evidence do you have that there's anyone in this doomed company worth picking up out of the wreckage?

    Um WHAT? Who said I had evidence and was defending the company? Why so personal?

    I just asked certainly there's some talent Apple can hire? A director, a promoter a camera man?
  • Reply 11 of 14
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Beats said:
    Beats said:
    I know everyone wants to poke fun but there has to be some talent here Apple can pick up?
    LOL who? Whitman herself even said she wasn't a big fan of "entertainment", whatever that means. Katzenberg modeled the whole thing after his own ridiculous multi-lunch meeting schedule that isn't reflective of any normal person. What evidence do you have that there's anyone in this doomed company worth picking up out of the wreckage?

    Um WHAT? Who said I had evidence and was defending the company? Why so personal?

    I just asked certainly there's some talent Apple can hire? A director, a promoter a camera man?

    Nope. Don’t think so. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 14
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    firelock said:
    It’s hard not to have schadenfreude about this as it was very much a “emperor’s new suit” situation. The company’s investors were duped by a self-delusional egomaniac and almost anyone with any industry savvy knew this venture would fail hard. They are just lucky that they launched this year so that they could blame their failure on the pandemic when in reality it was doomed from the start.
    I'm actually surprised that a lot of the investors were major Hollywood film studios. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 14
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,398member
    Beats said:
    Beats said:
    I know everyone wants to poke fun but there has to be some talent here Apple can pick up?
    LOL who? Whitman herself even said she wasn't a big fan of "entertainment", whatever that means. Katzenberg modeled the whole thing after his own ridiculous multi-lunch meeting schedule that isn't reflective of any normal person. What evidence do you have that there's anyone in this doomed company worth picking up out of the wreckage?

    Um WHAT? Who said I had evidence and was defending the company? Why so personal?

    I just asked certainly there's some talent Apple can hire? A director, a promoter a camera man?
    Why would you think a director or camera man would be a newly available ex-Quibi employee that Apple would want to "pick up"? You clearly have no idea how this industry works. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 14
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,398member

    firelock said:
    It’s hard not to have schadenfreude about this as it was very much a “emperor’s new suit” situation. The company’s investors were duped by a self-delusional egomaniac and almost anyone with any industry savvy knew this venture would fail hard. They are just lucky that they launched this year so that they could blame their failure on the pandemic when in reality it was doomed from the start.
    I'm actually surprised that a lot of the investors were major Hollywood film studios. 
    Read up on Katzenberg's history and you'll understand.
    watto_cobraboltsfan17
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