Quibi shutting down just 6 months after high-profile launch

Short-form video streaming platform Quibi is shutting down just six months after its high-profile launch in April, with a massive 50 shows released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89HKjodNEoI

With mega stars featuring or working on its titles, Reese Witherspoon, Joe Jonas, Liam Hemsworth, Sophie Turner, Steven Spielberg and Jennifer Lopez to name a few, it managed to create a huge buzz during launch.

However, over the next few months, the platform struggled to consistently add users. It was clearly destined for falling short of its subscriber goal for the year, estimated 7 million, by quite a distance, only managing about 1.3 million by May.

With the platform clearly floundering, the creators decided on closing down all operations.

Founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman said in a statement:

“Quibi was a big idea and there was no one who wanted to make a success of it more than we did. Our failure was not for lack of trying; we’ve considered and exhausted every option available to us.”

Quibi had raised $1.8 billion in capital. Reports indicate only $350 million of that will be left, including what’s owed to creditors.

The platform is now looking to sell its assets, or the service entirely, and raise money to pay off liabilities. The amount that’s left will be returned to investors.


Also Read: Tracing the fall of Quibi, the short-form streaming service that could not be

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