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Quibi: What is the new video streaming service?

Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg
Former Disney chief Jeffrey Katzenberg is the founder of Quibi. Pic credit: @ImageCollect/Admedia

Quibi is an upcoming mobile streaming service founded by former Disney chairman and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg. Quibi aims to deliver scripted and unscripted premium content to subscribers’ cell phones for viewing on the go in “quick bites.”

When will the service launch?

Quibi is scheduled to launch on April 6, 2020.

Quibi targets young viewers

The platform targets young viewers, providing short-form premium content. The name Quibi, a combination of “quick” and “bites,” expresses the platform’s focus on short-form mobile content with a duration of only a few minutes.

“Our platform is for 18-to-44-year-olds, and very, very targeted at the 25-to-35-year-old millennial,” Katzenberg told Vulture. “Our bull’s-eye is a 25-to-35-year-old, multicultural, diverse millennial audience.”

Quibi is mobile-centric

According to Katzenberg, the platform is mobile-centric. This means that the service is optimized exclusively for mobile devices.

Who are behind Quibi?

Katzenberg started the project in 2018 in collaboration with the former president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Meg Whitman. Whitman serves as Quibi’s CEO.

Other members of the team include former president of DC Entertainment Diane Nelson, former president of Viacom Music and Entertainment Group Doug Herzog, and former The Hollywood Reporter co-president Janice Min.

Quibi has reportedly raised $1 billion from investors, such as Liberty Global and Alibaba Group, and major Hollywood studios, such as Disney, 21st Century Fox, Sony Pictures Entertainment, NBCUniversal, Lionsgate, and MGM.

What type of content will the platform feature?

The project managers plan to spend more than $1 billion on commissioning short-form original content during the platform’s first year.

Quibi plans to feature diverse scripted and unscripted titles, ranging from comedy and drama to reality shows, game shows, documentaries, and news.

They are also planning a new short-form take on soap operas and late-night talks shows.

Quibi is partnering with an array of stars

Hollywood stars and other A-listers who have partnered with Quibi to create original content include Chrissy Teigen, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, Zac Efron, Jennifer Lopez, Idris Elba, Tyra Banks, Naomi Watts, and Kevin Hart.

Chrissy Teigen will reportedly star in a reality show similar to Judge Judy. Zac Efron has been filming a survival reality series for Quibi titled Killing Zac Efron.

Kevin Hart is doing a comedy series with Quibi, while Steven Spielberg is reportedly doing a horror show. Spielberg’s horror show is titled Spielberg’s After Dark, and users will be able to see it only at night wherever in the world they happen to be.

Several old shows are being rebooted for the platform. They include MTV’s Singled Out and Punk’d. Other reboots in the works at Quibi reportedly include The Fugitive, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Varsity Blues.

Quibi is also reportedly working with producer Michael Hirst (Vikings) on a biopic that will follow the life and career of the great medieval warrior-king Charlemagne (Charles the Great).

Katzenberg told Vulture that they were looking at how to include interactive series similar to Netflix’s Bandersnatch in Quibi’s programming.

How much will Quibi Cost?

Vulture reported in August that Quibi was planning to introduce a two-tiered subscription system where subscribers will pay $5 a month to view shows with a few short-form ads and $8 per month without ads.

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