Quibi short shows could be caught by Roku, report says

Quibi short shows could be caught by Roku, report says

Mobile streaming platform Quibi may have had a short and unsuccessful life, but there's a chance its content lives on, if a recent report is correct. According to the Wall Street Journal, Quibi is in "advanced talks" to sell streaming rights to its catalog of short shows to Roku Inc. If the deal goes through, Roku could exclusively publish Qubi's library of original content on the free channel. from Roku with advertising. While the report says there's a good chance the deal will fall through, if it comes to fruition, it could be a small saving grace for Quibi after its disappointing lifespan. Established as a mobile streaming service by Jeffrey Katzenberg in April 2020, Quibi focused on delivering short-form content to mobile viewers short on time. It might have been great in a world where commuting is rife, but with the coronavirus pandemic keeping people around the world at home, it still seems to be facing an uphill battle. Despite securing some good shows with big names like Liam Hemsworth, Anna Kendrick, and Sophie Turner, Quibi was unable to bring in the numbers it needed and its stop was announced in October 2020 before. the app continued to work fully last month.

Why would Roku be interested?

While they weren't enough to keep Quibi afloat, there's a chance some of its shows could be beneficial to Roku. Roku is known for its streaming material rather than original content, so if you were to acquire the rights to Quibi's content, you'd have something distinctive to offer on your own channel, on your own devices. If Roku were to embark on original programming, that would mean facing competition from long-established services like Amazon and Netflix; Acquiring the rights to Quibi's catalog could be a faster and more cost-effective way for Roku to test the waters. There's a chance that some of Quibi's shows could take off on the Roku platform given the huge popularity of the devices. The WSJ report does not specify any of the financial details of the deal or individual programs that may be on the table, while Quibi and Roku declined to comment. According to the WSJ, there's a good chance this all will fail, so we don't want to go back to the Quibi library just yet.