Quibi was the biggest bust of the streaming boom. But it has something Roku wants – more than 100 original shows.
Quibi, which announced it would close six months after a very complicated launch, is in talks to sell its contents to Roku, the maker of devices with its own streaming app.
The deal is nearing completion, said one person with knowledge of the discussions, who was not authorized to speak in public. Quibi and Roku declined to comment.
Founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, who raised more than $ 1.75 billion from major Hollywood studios and other investors, Quibi was a mercurial attempt to capitalize on the boom. His performances, which were hacked into installments for no longer than ten minutes, were meant to be watched on smartphones.
The approach assumed that people wanted this type of viewing experience to help their daily commutes or while queuing for coffee, but the coronavirus pandemic meant that potential customers did not have their work-on-the-work routines when the platform did not go live in April.
Mr. Katzenberg blamed the pandemic for Quibi’s rapid demise, while others cited the unusual format and some of his creative choices, including a show in which Emmy-winning actress Rachel Brosnahan plays the character obsessed with her own golden arm.
Business and Economics
Still, Quibi has won two Emmy Awards in the short form category for actors Laurence Fishburne and Jasmine Cephas Jones in the series ‘#FreeRayshawn’. Two of his other programs garnered nominations: “Most Dangerous Game,” starring Christoph Waltz and Liam Hemsworth, and a rerun of the comedy “Reno 911!”
This is where Roku comes in. The company needs materials for its Roku TV app. And Quibi, which has not yet darkened, will soon have enough material that can be invisible.
Quibi’s unusual business strategy is to complicate the talks, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Katzenberg and Mrs. Whitman did not pursue ownership of the platform’s content, but rather purchased exclusive rights from creators to stream their shows for seven years. The arrangement was appealing to producers, who retained the right to later sell the programs to another service, such as Netflix. It is unclear how a sale will affect the rights of content producers.
Roku, best known for its easy-to-stream devices, generates nearly two-thirds of its revenue from its media division. Roku TV, a free advertising channel supported by streaming, offers movies and programs made by other companies without a significant range of original content.
Despite the relatively low cost of digital platforms, the flow of accounts is starting to increase as the digital media industry declines and expands. The average household pays for only three services at a time, and exclusive content in a free app is likely to attract an audience.
The latest entrant, Discovery +, a platform built on 55,000 hours of unwritten shows, went live Monday and arrived in a busy field that, in addition to Netflix, also included Peacock from NBCUniversal, HBO Max, Disney +, AppleTV + , CBS All Access (coming soon) to be renamed to Paramount +) and Hulu.
Roku has become a powerhouse by exercising its distribution power – it demands 46 million bills – to lift its media business. After a long disagreement, Roku recently forged an agreement with AT&T to carry its HBO Max service. Roku wanted more access to ad inventory on AT & T’s upcoming ad-based streaming platform as well as rights to Warner Bros. content.