Last month, mobile-only streaming service Quibi made its debut in Canada with a free 90-day trial. The service costs $6.99 CAD per month once the trial is over, offering mobile-optimized shows featuring some Hollywood A-listers and backed by nearly $2 billion USD in investment funding.
The app, however, saw only 1.7 million app downloads in its first week, compared to over 10 million downloads for Disney+ in a single day, despite a lineup that includes producers and stars like Jennifer Lopez, LeBron James, Idris Elba, Steven Spielberg and Chrissy Teigen.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg has now blamed the global pandemic for the rough start. “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus,” Katzenberg said. “Everything. But we own it.”
Many people who downloaded Quibi had a simple question: Why can’t I watch it on TV? In response, Mr. Katzenberg and Ms. Whitman have backpedaled on their original commitment to a smartphone-only app. This week, Quibi subscribers who have iPhones will be able to watch movies-in-chapters like “Most Dangerous Game” and shows like “Chrissy’s Court” on TV screens. (Android users will have to wait a few more weeks.)
Katzenberg also said that Quibi will soon be less walled off from the internet, allowing users to share its content on social media platforms.
You can read the full interview at the source page.
