Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg blames coronavirus for the streaming app's challenges
Summary
A TechCrunch article by Anthony Ha reporting that Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg told The New York Times 'I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus' as the short-form video app's launch fell short. Quibi says the app has been downloaded around 3.5 million times and has 1.3 million active users, which Katzenberg called 'not close to what we wanted', against projections of 7 million users and $250 million in subscriber revenue in its first year. The article says Quibi is shifting its marketing toward specific shows such as a 'Reno 911' reboot and is adding TV viewing support for iOS users.
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Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg blames coronavirus for the streaming app’s challenges Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg is admitting that the short-form video service’s launch hasn’t gone the way he’d hoped — and he knows what to blame for its issues. “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus,” Katzenberg said in an interview with The New York Times . “Everything. But we own it.” Back in April, I actually asked Quibi executives about how they thought the worldwide pandemic and widespread social distancing measures might affect their launch. After all, an app designed to deliver videos under 10 minutes when you’re on-the-go seems less appealing when no one can leave their house (where you can just sit on your couch and watch Netflix). “I’m looking to take small breaks more than ever before to stand up, walk around, go outside,” CTO Rob Post said at the time. “Our use cases are these in-between moments. Now more than ever, that use case is still present.” Similarly, Katzenberg told The Times he’d hoped “there would still be many in-between moments while sheltering in place.” Instead, he argued that those moments are still happening, “but it’s not the same. It’s out of sync.” How badly has the launch gone? Quibi says it has been downloaded around 3.5 million times, and that it currently has 1.3 million active users. That’s a significant audience, especially for a service that was only released a little over a month ago. Still, Katzenberg admitted it’s “not close to what we wanted.” And the company is apparently adjusting its projections, which had called for the service to reach 7 million users and $250 million in subscriber revenue in its first year. At least it sounds like Quibi is trying to learn and adapt. For one thing, the marketing has started to shift to promoting specific shows like a “Reno 911” reboot, rather than advertising the idea of Quibi itself. For another, the company said it will be adding TV viewing support for iOS users this week. Quibi launches its mobile streaming service in the middle of the quarantine era Topics coronavirus , COVID-19 , films , IT , Jeffrey Katzenberg , Media & Entertainment , Netflix , Quibi , Rob Post , The New York Times , the-times When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission . This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Anthony Ha Anthony Ha is TechCrunch’s weekend editor. Previously, he worked as a tech reporter at Adweek, a senior editor at VentureBeat, a local government reporter at the Hollister Free Lance, and vice president of content at a VC firm. He lives in New York City. You can contact or verify outreach from Anthony by emailing [email protected] . View Bio
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