Streaming service Quibi has had a lackluster start to life which the founder Jeffrey Katzenberg has attributed to the Coronavirus pandemic.
He said, “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus. “Everything. But we own it.”
Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman rolled Quibi out at CES in January, leaning on their celebrity friends and a $1.8 billion cash raise to produce short content that was meant to be watched by people who were on the go.
The streaming service was launched on April 6, a time people when the countries around the world had shut down activities and people had to stay indoors. Signups never took off, even with a 90-day free trial. Only between 3 and 3.5 million people have installed the app. The number of active users is about a third of that, the company said.
Katzenberg said, “Is it the avalanche of people that we wanted and were going out for launch?
“The answer is no. It’s not up to what we wanted. It’s not close to what we wanted.”
Previously, both Katzenberg and Whitman were adamant that Quibi’s content would not work on TV screens. It was designed for a mobile audience and the viewing habits of those people. Now, however, the company is adjusting content like Chrissy’s Court to fit on TV screens. In a recent development, iPhone users can stream content to TVs now. Android subscribers will be able to in the coming weeks.
Aside from attributing the anemic performance of the streaming service to coronavirus, Katzenberg also admitted that some content had failed to connect with audiences. News programming, for instance, from NBC, BBC, ESPN, and others, which was classified “Daily Essentials” has gone largely unwatched.
“The Daily Essentials are not that essential,” said Katzenberg.
Quibi had been hopeful it would gather 7 million viewers in its first year. The company has now abandoned that guidance but has not given any updated projections.
