Launch of the Quibi application: better or worse time?

Quibi was never supposed to compete with Netflix or Disney Plus.

The novelty was a shortened video for people waiting for coffee or the bus. The space Quibi intended to seize was the minutes lost during the day for which the big streamers were not competing. But the COVID-19 pandemic changed the plans of the Quibis when it launched on Monday, April 6. The question was whether Hollywood icon Jeffrey Katzenberg and Silicon Valley giant Meg Whitman could create a streaming service designed to be enjoyed on the go.

Now Quibi has to compete on the couch.

Its other obstacle in Quibis is trying to penetrate an already oversaturated market. This is both the best and the worst time to start a streaming service. People are hungry for new entertainment because they have to stay inside, and the 90-day free trial of Quibis makes downloading and checking another app and another streaming service less painful. Having daily episodes and videos is also an attractive offer compared to other streamers. Now is the perfect time to try to find an audience, demonstrating what Quibi has to offer.

((Disclosure: Vox Media, which owns Le Verge, has an agreement with Quibi to produce a Polygon Daily Essential, and there have been preliminary discussions about Edge to show.)

But it could also be detrimental. Whitman doesn’t see Quibi as stationary entertainment. She said MarketWatch in January that Quibi is not YouTube or Instagram, adding that Quibi fills a niche they don’t have. We provide content for people on the go, said Whitman, something she and Katzenberg have reiterated in recent months. Quibi is supposed to be the streaming service for people while they’re on the subway, queuing for a salad or waiting for friends to show up at a bar. That’s the thing people are supposed to do between two things, priced at $ 4.99, cheaper than almost all other streamers except Apple TV Plus.

Katzenberg and Whitman bet on giving people sporadic moments of transition from one thing to another with abridged content, but if these moments no longer exist, does Quibi still work? Is it something people need or even want?

You’re going to see a big boost for three months because it’s free for 90 days, predicts Carter Pilcher, CEO of Shorts TV and expert in short video space. As soon as they start charging $ 4.99, it will be a hot potato. People will drop it. Netflix, you must have it because its entertainment throughout the week. If you have a family, Disney + is what you need to have. Quibi, I’m fighting to find out why I should have this.

It is not all unhappiness and sadness. Quibi has a lot to do: an endless programming of Hollywood talents that could attract the curious and a game plan to produce constant entertainment over the next few months. There are shows by Chance the Rapper, Chrissy Teigen and Idris Elba; films with Sophie Turner and Liam Hemsworth; and quirky comedies starring actors like Dave Franco, Will Forte and Kaitlin Olson. The production of some Quibi shows has taken a hit, as has the rest of the entertainment industry, but Katzenberg has made it clear in a number of recent interviews that he is confident that Quibi will weather the storm.

People may have more time to sit and watch things than ever lot but it will take those 90 days of free Quibi service to convince people to stay and start paying. People lose their jobs every day. Decisions are made about what is an essential purchase and what is not. Quibi is not Netflix, the standard streaming service that is essential for most households. Most importantly, it’s not YouTube.

The main competitor is also YouTube, says Raj Venkatesan, professor of commerce at the University of Virginia. The edge. Now that people aren’t working as hard, it’s not a good time to charge for a type of content they can get for free elsewhere. You must be cheap or free at this point.

Quibi might think of itself as competing with YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok to grab people’s attention when they use their phones throughout the day, but Katzenberg and Whitman are trying to market their app to subscribers as a place to watch High-quality TV and film content Ready to go. What Quibi needs is Game of Thrones or one Mandalorian that keeps people connected and subscribed. If the promise of content falls short of what is actually delivered, people will leave.

Content is king, but clearly, platform is king today, Katzenberg told CNBC in 2019.

When it’s so expensive, it has to be something really unique or amazing that people feel they have to sign up for, says Pilcher. These guys spend a lot of money, but I don’t know if they spend it properly. I don’t think they are.

Despite the control of Katzenberg and Whitman and the $ 2 billion fundraiser, Quibi is an outsider. It’s not just Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, HBO Max and Peacock, but social platforms with hundreds of millions of active daily users. And this without any real identity, library content or notable franchises on which it can rely. Quibi has always been a risky experience. He must now prove that his viewing is still essential when his original thesis in progress was undermined by an event beyond anyone’s control.

This is not the world Quibi was about to enter, but it is this one. Whether Quibi can divert attention from TikTok or Netflix is ​​pending, but Katzenberg and Whitman will know soon enough if their big on the go streaming plan works when people have nowhere to go.