David Farnor | On 13, May 2021

It’s been over a year since Quibi launched in the US and UK, promised to change the way that we would stream things and then shut its doors entirely. Short for “Quick Bites”, it delivered programmes and films in short chunks of 5 to 10 minutes each, designed to be watched on mobile phones on the go.

In 2021, however, Quibi lives on, with its shows snapped up by Roku earlier this year. Now rebranded as Roku Originals, they’ll be released on to our screens with a new lease of life later this month.

The Roku Originals will be available for free on The Roku Channel, the home-grown streaming app that lives on the streaming device manufacturer’s sticks and boxes, plus Roku TVs. The Roku Channel is an ad-supported app, streaming thousands of movies, TV episodes and documentaries without a subscription price tag. To give you an idea of what’s playing, this month saw the arrival of Black Beauty, Everything Must Go, The Fourth State, The Contender, Cypher, Yukon Men, Hoarding Buried Alive and Modern Life Is Goodish.

Quibi’s exclusive content library provides a major boost to that ad-carrying catalogue, with 30 shows set to debut all at once, ranging from scripted drama and comedy to reality programming. The line-up includes the Emmy-winning #FreeRayShawn, starring Laurence Fishburne, Quibi’s revival of Reno 911! and Kevin Hart’s Die Hard, as well as sex doll comedy Dummy, starring Anna Kendrick, Most Dangerous Game, a thriller starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz, and a remake of The Fugitive starring Kiefer Sutherland.

The Roku Originals will stream in the original 10-minute episode lengths released by Quibi, with ads served between each instalment. They will be available on Roku in the UK, US and Canada.

There are still another 45 Quibi originals that Roku has ready to release later this year. For now, though, here’s the rundown of the Roku Originals coming to current generation Roku streaming players and Roku TVs. They launch on 20th May.

#FreeRayshawn – From executive producer Antoine Fuqua, award-winning #FreeRayShawn stars Stephan James as an accused man whose difficult pathway to exoneration–and survival–hinges upon placing his trust in a stranger (Laurence Fishburne) and asking a nation to bear witness.

About Face – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley gets up close and personal with today’s biggest beauty icons including Kylie Jenner, Huda Kattan and more to hear their stories, inspirations, and learn what it takes to build a beauty empire.

Bad Ideas with Adam Devine – Adam Devine has always had a thirst for adventure. While most avoid danger, Adam not only faces it head on – but he adds his own twist to make what he’s doing a truly bad idea. Now, he’s roped his celebrity friends to come along for the ride.

Barkitecture – Heartthrob contractor Tyler Cameron and interior designer Delia Kenza build custom, luxury dog homes for the furry friends of celebrity clients.

Big Rad Wolf – American Apparel was initially celebrated for its provocative advertising and message of social change. Then the unpredictability of its founder imploded the iconic company. This is the story of the brand — good, bad, and ugly — as told by the people who lived it.

Blackballed – Nominated for Best Sports Show by Critics Choice Real TV Awards. The series highlights the five days during the 2014 NBA playoffs, when Doc Rivers, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and the LA Clippers led an unprecedented movement of athletes to hold racism accountable.

Centerpiece – Visionary Florist and Host Maurice Harris interviews creatives about their process. As they open up about their journey, Maurice uses his incredible flower design skills to create a beautiful centerpiece that reflects their conversation.

Chrissy’s Court – The cases are real. The decisions are legally binding. And the judge…is Chrissy Teigen.

Cup of Joe – Joe Jonas has toured the world as a pop star. Now he’s ready to explore it as an average Joe. As he journeys through eight cities worldwide, celebrity friends will help him experience them as a local.

Die Hart – Kevin Hart, playing a version of himself, is on a death-defying quest to become an action star. And with a little help from John Travolta, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Josh Hartnett…he just might pull it off.

Dishmantled – Take two blindfolded chef contestants. Blast a dish into their face. Then make them recreate it for celebrity judges to win a cash prize. Hosted by Tituss Burgess
Dummy – An aspiring writer (Anna Kendrick) befriends her boyfriend’s sex doll and the two take on the world together.

Fight Like a Girl – Ten women. Paired with WWE Superstars. Together they find the strength, courage, and ability to transform themselves both on the inside and out.

Flipped – Jann and Cricket think they have what it takes to become TV’s newest house-flipping couple. Unfortunately, a Mexican drug cartel thinks so too. Now the delusional duo has to survive their newest project — renovating the cartel’s mansions.

The Fugitive – Mike Ferro is an innocent man on the run, desperate to clear his name. Clay Bryce is the determined cop trying to track him down. Let the chase begin.

Gayme Show – Glitter. Rainbows. Grand entrances. Matt Rogers & Dave Mizzoni host as two straight contestants compete in a series of physical, mental, and performance challenges to test their gay knowledge. Who will reign forevermore as “Queen of the Straights”?

Iron Sharpens Iron – Top pro athletes from different sports grind in the gym together and trade training secrets. There will be sweat. There will be pain. But most of all, they will learn what gives each other that edge to be the greatest.

Last Looks – There’s a dark side to glamour. Dakota Fanning narrates this true crime documentary series that looks at real-life crimes that shook the fashion industry, told by the people closest to each case.

Let’s Roll with Tony Greenhand – Amazing artist. Jaw-dropping joints. Blown minds. Virtuoso Tony Greenhand designs and builds eye-popping smokable creations specifically tailored for stoner celebrity clients.

Most Dangerous Game – A man (Liam Hemsworth) desperate and in debt. In a dystopian thriller where the hunter turns out to be the hunted. Game on. Cast: Liam Hemsworth, Christoph Waltz

Murder House Flip – An unconventional home renovation show that takes on the country’s most infamous homes: ones known for the mysterious murders within their walls. Designers Joelle and Mikel remove the stains of the past and make once morbid homes marvelous.

Murder Unboxed – A samurai sword. A tomahawk. A Playboy magazine. Unbox these real-life pieces of evidence and more while hearing from the detectives, prosecutors, and witnesses who helped solve the actual cases.

Nightgowns – The stage awaits. Sasha Velour and her cast members are preparing for the biggest drag showcase of their lives. Expect heart, humor, and a heck of a lot of glamour.

Prodigy – A sports docu-series shining light on top young athletes moments before their big break.

Punk’d – Punk’d is back, and no one is safe! The iconic series returns with Chance the Rapper as host — masterminding the biggest pranks behind the scenes. The biggest stars are about to learn what happens if their fates were up to Chance.

Reno 911! – Reno 911! lets viewers ride shotgun with the courageous men and women of the Reno Sheriff’s Department as they lay down the law and put it all on the line. The Reno 911! camera doesn’t blink – and when danger is near, the Reno Sheriff’s Department will be nearer.

Royalties – Royalties is a take on the oft-untold story of songwriters behind the world’s biggest hits. It follows ragtag songwriting duo Sara and Pierce as they navigate the strange and hilarious challenges of creating great songs for insane artists.

Shape of Pasta – Chef Evan Funke is on a culinary journey across Italy for all the forgotten pastas you can handle.

Thanks a Million – Big names. Big money. Big Giving. Aaron Rodgers, Jennifer Lopez, and more kickstart a chain of kindness, each gifting $100,000 to an unsuspecting individual who have had a positive impact on their lives — with a catch. Watch as the “pay it forward” chain unfolds.

You Ain’t Got These – This is not a show about sneakers. It’s a show about sneaker culture. Fitting in. And belonging to something bigger than yourself. Best of all? Lena Waithe is in it.

 

Quibi in talks to sell shows to Roku

5th January 2021

Quibi is readying to sell its library of original shows to Roku.

The streaming platform was the big bust of 2020, launching in the US and UK in April 2020 and shutting its doors just a matter of months later. Short for “Quick Bites”, it delivered programmes and films in short chunks of 5 to 10 minutes each, designed to be watched on mobile phones on the go. After struggling to gain purchase in a crowded, competitive streaming landscape, and despite backing from high-profile founders Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, Quibi announced that it was winding down operations.

Now, as the company struggles to repay investors, it appears that it may have found a buyer for its content: Roku. The streaming device manufacturer has its own streaming app, called The Roku Channel, providing consumers with free access to 10,000+ movies, TV episodes and documentaries. That also launched in April 2020, and put Roku in the market for content to fill up its ad-supported app.

Quibi’s content isn’t an unappealing shopping list, including a revival of Reno 911, the thriller Most Dangerous Game starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz, comedy series Dummy, starring Anna Kendrick, survival drama Survive starring Sophie Turner and police drama #FreeRayShawn, which bagged two Emmy Awards last year.

Crucially, Quibi does not own any of this content: it bought a seven-year licence for its short-form shows, but giving the owners of the titles the rights to distribute and resell the shows in a feature-length format on other platforms after two years. How that complicates any purchase by Roku is not yet clear, but talks are at advanced stages, the Wall Street Channel reported at the weekend. The New York Times has since reported that the deal is “close to completion”.
 

Quibi officially closing its doors

22nd October 2020

Quibi is officially closing its doors, barely six months after it first launched.

Short for “Quick Bites”, the streaming platform delivers programmes and films in short chunks of 5 to 10 minutes each, designed to be watched on mobile phones on the go. It launched unannounced in the spring of this year, but has since struggled to gain purchase in a crowded, competitive streaming landscape.

A month after its launch, the mobile-only platform backtracked on its signature proposition and introduce the ability to cast content to TVs – a sign of how challenging an environment it was. Quibi has blamed the coronavirus pandemic for its difficulties, as the launch occurred just as people went into lockdown, leaving them without the mobile-friendly window of commuting and travelling about to digest Quibi content – although YouTube, TikTok and other short-form platforms have had no trouble in engaging users.

Last month, we reported that Quibi was exploring its options for its future, including selling up. Now, Quibi has confirmed that it will “wind down its business operations and initiative a process to sell its assets”.

“Our failure was not for lack of trying,” founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and Chief Executive Meg Whitman wrote in an open letter. “We’ve considered and exhausted every option available to us.”

The decision comes as the company continued to fall far short of its intended subscriber forecasts, despite heavy spending on star-studded original programming, from a thriller starring Christoph Waltz and Liam Hemsworth to a romantic comedy with Anna Kendrick, not to mention a horror series from Sam Raimi, a cooking show hosted by Tituss Burgess, a survival drama starring Tye Sheridan and police drama #FreeRayShawn, which won 2 Emmys just a few weeks ago.

Katzenberg and Whitman admitted that either the idea behind Quibi “wasn’t strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service” or the timing of launching the service during the pandemic was fatal.

“Unfortunately, we will never know but we suspect it’s been a combination of the two.”

The move will mean its 200 employees will be out of work, and its other projects in the pipeline will also be stuck in limbo. The WSJ reports that employees will be paid a severance, while the company will look at selling the rights to its content to other broadcasters and streamers, as it tries to pay back the studios, investors and tech firms that invested in the platform – although Facebook, Apple and NBCUniversal have all reportedly passed on proposals.

 

Struggling Quibi explores its options

22nd September 2020

Quibi is reportedly considering a possible sale, as it explores a number of strategic options for its future.

Short for “Quick Bites”, the streaming platform delivers programmes and films in short chunks of 5 to 10 minutes each, designed to be watched on mobile phones on the go. It launched unannounced in the spring of this year, but has since struggled to gain purchase in a crowded, competitive streaming landscape.

A month after its launch, the mobile-only platform backtracked on its signature proposition and introduce the ability to cast content to TVs – a sign of how challenging an environment it was. Quibi has blamed the coronavirus pandemic for its difficulties, as the launch occurred just as people went into lockdown, leaving them without the mobile-friendly window of commuting and travelling about to digest Quibi content – although TikTok, a similarly mobile-centric platform, has found no trouble in engaging users.

With the company reportedly behind pace for its subscriber targets, and with a patent lawsuit filed earlier this year over Quibi’s “Turnstyle” feature (which allows viewers to watch different video streams by reorienting their phone), times have been tough for what was hoped by founders Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman to be a major disruptive player.

Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that the company may even consider the ideal of selling up, as it navigates its way through the tricky months to come. Other possibilities include raising more money or going public “through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company”.

The report comes just as Quibi struck gold with two Emmy awards for Laurence Fishburne and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who starred in its drama #FreeRayShawn.

A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the WSJ report, telling the publication: “Quibi has successfully launched a new business and pioneered a new form of storytelling and state-of-the-art platform.”

They added that Katzenberg and Whitman remain “committed to continuing to build the business in the way that gives the greatest experience for customers, greatest value for shareholders and greatest opportunity for employees”.

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