Video service Quibi exploring 'strategic options' including possible sale

Posted:
in General Discussion
Recently launched streaming service Quibi is reportedly exploring "strategic options," including the possibility of a sale, as it struggles to hit initial subscriber targets.

Credit: Quibi
Credit: Quibi


The short-form video service, started by Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, first launched in April. Since then, however, the service has reportedly struggled to bring in subscribers in a crowded market.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the service is exploring a variety of options. That could include a sale, raising more money, or going public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

Quibi launched in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The company is likely to miss its initial paid subscriber target by a large margin, and is also facing a patent lawsuit.

The show's main differentiator was short-form video content that was optimized for mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. Thus far, that format has apparently left consumers unswayed.

Quibi declined to confirm to the Journal that it's exploring alternate options. It say it remains "committed to continuing to build the business in the way that gives the greatest experience for customers, greatest value for shareholders and greatest opportunity for employees."

Back in July, Quibi was reportedly a potential acquisition target for Apple. It isn't clear if this is still the case.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    Color me unsurprised.  After Vine, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, the world did not need yet another short-form video social media platform.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 19
    lol. what a waste of investor capital the entire project was. if only small businesses could get the funding that is routinely thrown at stupid ideas like this one.
    aderuttermac_dogRayz2016bala1234watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 19
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 611member
    What would they be selling? They have absolutely nothing except a bad idea and probably a lot of debt.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 19
    What's a Quibi?
    TomPMRIwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 19
    apple might want this. the quibi catalogue is far bigger than tv+’s is. 
  • Reply 6 of 19
    litoloop said:
    apple might want this. the quibi catalogue is far bigger than tv+’s is. 
    I am sure that if Apple wanted, it could easily create something far better than Katzenberg, Whitman et. al could. Indeed, if they wanted to be in this space, they would have been better off bidding for TikTok Global. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 19
    Sounds like no one above has even watched Quibi’s content or understands the brilliance of what they’re doing. They are essentially a new form of Netflix and their content is really good and quite addicting. 10 min episodes and a show/season being 8-10+ episodes. Easier to binge and enjoy without a half day commitment. I for one hope they continue and keep creating more content and expand with an Apple TV app. 
    Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 19
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Color me unsurprised.  After Vine, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, the world did not need yet another short-form video social media platform.

    That's not what Quibi is.....

    jimh2 said:
    What would they be selling? They have absolutely nothing except a bad idea and probably a lot of debt.

    Original content in an innovative mobile format.

    litoloop said:
    apple might want this. the quibi catalogue is far bigger than tv+’s is. 
    I am sure that if Apple wanted, it could easily create something far better than Katzenberg, Whitman et. al could. Indeed, if they wanted to be in this space, they would have been better off bidding for TikTok Global. 

    That makes no sense. Quibi would cost something like 500 million where TikTok was what? 10 billion? TikTok is also different. Quibi comes with original content.

    Sounds like no one above has even watched Quibi’s content or understands the brilliance of what they’re doing. They are essentially a new form of Netflix and their content is really good and quite addicting. 10 min episodes and a show/season being 8-10+ episodes. Easier to binge and enjoy without a half day commitment. I for one hope they continue and keep creating more content and expand with an Apple TV app. 

    Yeah these replies are strange. Someone thought it was a social media platform.
    AaronMendozawatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 19
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Now that I've got all the haters out of the way, I think this would be great for Apple as it will still be original content for TV+ and could be sorted into a sub-category with bite-sized iPhone shows. Not sure what they would name this content but they can still produce more and keep it in that sub category without disrupting the rest of Apple TV+.

    Also, they seem to have the feminist, anti-male content that Apple tends to lean toward.


    lol. what a waste of investor capital the entire project was. if only small businesses could get the funding that is routinely thrown at stupid ideas like this one.

    I always got the feeling that Quibi was created just for acquisition. The execs had that vibe that begged for an acquisition from a bigger company.
  • Reply 10 of 19
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,275member
    Funny, my synonym search program didn't find "strategic options" as a match for "we failed" ...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 19
    litoloop said:
    apple might want this. the quibi catalogue is far bigger than tv+’s is. 
    Yeah...because Apple wants to buy Debt and a Patent Lawsuit.  
    Rayz2016watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 19
    Beats said:

    litoloop said:
    apple might want this. the quibi catalogue is far bigger than tv+’s is. 
    I am sure that if Apple wanted, it could easily create something far better than Katzenberg, Whitman et. al could. Indeed, if they wanted to be in this space, they would have been better off bidding for TikTok Global. 

    That makes no sense. Quibi would cost something like 500 million where TikTok was what? 10 billion? TikTok is also different. Quibi comes with original content.
    .
    It would have been closer to $30B, not $10B.

    Either number is a rounding error for a company with a market cap in the ballpark of $2,000B (0.5% to 1.5%). Assuming it made strategic sense (but I did not suggest it would -- read again).
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 19

    Beats said:

    lol. what a waste of investor capital the entire project was. if only small businesses could get the funding that is routinely thrown at stupid ideas like this one.

    I always got the feeling that Quibi was created just for acquisition. The execs had that vibe that begged for an acquisition from a bigger company.
    Quibi is dead. It ain't getting sold. This is a save-face PR news dump.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 19
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    litoloop said:
    apple might want this. the quibi catalogue is far bigger than tv+’s is. 
    They won’t want a catalogue that no one is watching. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 19
    Beats said:
    lol. what a waste of investor capital the entire project was. if only small businesses could get the funding that is routinely thrown at stupid ideas like this one.
    I always got the feeling that Quibi was created just for acquisition. The execs had that vibe that begged for an acquisition from a bigger company.
    Dunno. Do know they raised almost $2 billion in investor money. That is a lot of money. $2 billion to small businesses goes a long way. All flushed down the toilet, for the idea of "like Netflix but you can only watch on your phone" and a name worse than Qwikster.
    edited September 2020 watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 19
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Beats said:
    lol. what a waste of investor capital the entire project was. if only small businesses could get the funding that is routinely thrown at stupid ideas like this one.
    I always got the feeling that Quibi was created just for acquisition. The execs had that vibe that begged for an acquisition from a bigger company.
    Dunno. Do know they raised almost $2 billion in investor money. That is a lot of money. $2 billion to small businesses goes a long way. All flushed down the toilet, for the idea of "like Netflix but you can only watch on your phone" and a name worse than Qwikster.

    True but I still got that vibe from the company that they only existed in hopes for an acquisition from Netflix, Apple, AT&T etc.

    Maybe they spent that $2 billion trying to impress bigger companies instead of impressing viewers.

    I'm not defending it, but they did have an innovative idea and all original content that Apple may want.
  • Reply 17 of 19
    Didn’t they just start this service... like... a few weeks ago?
    anantksundaramwatto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 19
    Didn’t they just start this service... like... a few weeks ago?
    "Cue-bee, we hardly knew-ye...'
    SpamSandwichwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 19
    Didn’t they just start this service... like... a few weeks ago?
    "Cue-bee, we hardly knew-ye...'
    LMAO!
    watto_cobra
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