Jeffrey Katzenberg’s billion-dollar gamble with short-form mobile-only content service Quibi launches Monday and is still on track to debut on that date. Whether the startup will survive is another question.
Skepticism about the format was there even before the coronavirus pandemic swept the world, but now it arrives right at the heart of a generational crisis meaning that should it weather this and find success, chances are it will work out well for them in the long term.
Katzenberg, working from his Beverly Hills mansion, tells Variety this week: “My confidence that people will find this engaging and appealing has never been higher”.
The company has exclusive scripted dramas, comedies and reality-TV-style content from big names like Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Lopez, Sam Raimi and Antoine Fuqua – though almost all of the content itself is new as opposed to being based on existing IP.
In addition, Quibi is now being been sued this week by interactive-video company Eko who reportedly claims Quibi blatantly copied its patented ‘Real Time Switching’ mobile-video technology and stole proprietary secrets.
Assuming it makes its launch, the service will be free for 90 days for anyone who cares to check it out, and Katzenberg says they have already got enough fresh content to keep the service pushing new content for at least eighteen months – and is intent on releasing around 9,600 episodes (up from 8,500) in the first year.
