RIP Quibi: Short-lived streaming service shuts down

Streaming platform Quibi has announced that it will be closing down, after only being on the market for six months.

The streaming platform, launched in April this year, aimed to cater to the mobile streaming market. The platform hosts five to 10-minute episodes of series tailored for smartphone and tablet screens.

Quibi attracted some big names and personalities in Hollywood. It aimed to completely change the streaming market and how people view content online.

However, in an open letter, the company said that it had struggled to emulate short-form content in a saturated market, while also in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The service experienced low viewership, while also facing a patent lawsuit.

According to founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and Chief Executive Meg Whitman, “Quibi was a big idea and there was no one who wanted to make a success of it more than we did. Our failure was not for lack of trying; we’ve considered and exhausted every option available to us.”

“And yet, Quibi is not succeeding. Likely for one of two reasons: because the idea itself wasn’t strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service or because of our timing,” the pair said in the open letter.

Quibi will be returning the capital it received from investors in a bid to shut down the service as soon as possible.

Feature image: Screenshot/Quibi

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