WndrCo and the creation of Quibi. The company inked a distribution deal with T-Mobile, which has offered Quibi free for one year to subscribers on unlimited wireless family plans. Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, co-founders and partner CEOs at WNDRCO/Quibi spoke to Variety‘s Todd Spangler about their newest joint venture aimed at revolutionizing entertainment with…. Katzenberg said WndrCo would reinvent TV for mobile, setting up the first hints at Quibi’s development. Meanwhile, Quibi is the target of a lawsuit filed by interactive-video company Eko, which accuses Quibi of misappropriating trade secrets and infringing two patents. Katzenberg also struck out in his attempt to sell Quibi’s programming rights to companies including NBCUniversal and Facebook, per The Information’s story this week. Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. Katzenberg, the one-time movie mogul who headed DreamWorks Animation before selling it to Comcast, has blamed the coronavirus pandemic for Quibi’s lower-than-expected uptake. Earlier this summer, Quibi denied a report that it was planning to make layoffs. So goes nearly $2 billion in investment dollars from across town. At an industry conference in June, he said, “I’m still quite optimistic this is gonna work.”. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A SPAC is a kind of holding company formed solely for the purpose of raising capital through an initial public offering. According to Katzenberg, in the first year, Quibi had planned to launch some 175 original series and 8,500 episodes, but it’s not clear whether that will actually happen now. Quibi had about 50 original titles at launch, including shows featuring originals with Jennifer Lopez, Chrissy Teigen, Chance the Rapper, Liam Hemsworth, Sophie Turner, Lena Waithe, Nicole Richie and Reese Witherspoon. The possible sale of Quibi comes as it has had a tough time signing up subscribers following its launch six months ago, which came just weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic began sweeping across the U.S. Tech investors include China’s Alibaba Group. The company has since added the ability to “cast” streams from Apple iOS and Android mobile apps. Quibi did not confirm or deny the Journal report. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah! According to a Wall Street Journal report, Katzenberg called investor Wednesday to tell them Quibi was shuttering.
More broadly, Quibi faces competition from much larger subscription-streaming players like Netflix and Disney — despite Quibi execs insisting they’re catering to a different market segment, a theoretical audience of millennial smartphone users who want “quick bite,” on-the-go entertainment. Launched in April 2020, Quibi has raised about $1.75 billion from major studios and other investors and has banked dozens of original series from Hollywood A-listers. But in the mobile-video space, Quibi is fighting for attention against a torrent of free short-form video available on apps like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube.
Just six months after launching, Quibi is reportedly shutting down. The Quibi (“quick bites”) service costs $4.99/month with ads and $7.99/month without. In 2017, Katzenberg founded WndrCo, a business which will invest in new media and technology companies. Quibi is exploring several strategic options including a possible sale ... Quibi was founded by former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg in 2018 under his holding company WndrCo LLC. Katzenberg insisted Quibi’s “quick-bite” content was meant to be watched on smartphones. Quibi reps did not respond to a request for comment. Try Not To Gasp When You See Her Now, Bill Cosby's team shares new photo after his mug shot goes viral 'to reassure his family and supporters that he is doing OK', Looking for a good scare?
Actually, Quibi doesn’t own any of the big-budget premium content for which it has shelled out upwards of $100,000 per minute. Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman offered an in-depth look at their new short-form video service during the Produced By conference on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Still, Quibi has fallen short of its business plan. Among other potential moves it is exploring, Quibi is considering trying to raise even more funding or launching an IPO through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), per the Journal report. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Katzenberg was exploring “strategic options” for Quibi including a potential sale. That came after a restructuring firm hired by Quibi -- which raised $1.75 billion in pre-launching funding -- provided a list of options to the company’s board of directors this week. Only this week did the company launch apps for viewing on living-room TVs on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Google TV/Android TV devices. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
A Quibi spokesperson declined to comment about the lineup. It also greenlit pricey projects with Steven Spielberg, Sam Raimi, Antoine Fuqua, Anna Kendrick, Rachel Brosnahan, Issa Rae, Kevin Hart, Steven Soderbergh and the Kardashians, among others. Katzenberg pitched a sale of the company -- which has about 500,000 paying customers -- to Apple, WarnerMedia and Facebook but was rebuffed, The Information reported earlier this month. Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, co-founders and partner CEOs at WNDRCO/Quibi spoke to Variety‘s Todd Spangler about their newest joint venture aimed at revolutionizing entertainment with short-form premium content customized for mobile consumption. Katzenberg’s WndrCo investment vehicle also is a Quibi investor.
The major question is who, exactly, would be interested in acquiring the struggling Quibi venture, given its untested business model and weak subscriber traction to date. In 2018, the startup (then called “New TV”) announced that it had raised $1 billion in funding. Quibi last year said it sold out its first-year ad inventory with $150 million in commitments from advertisers including Google, P&G and PepsiCo. Katzenberg, according to a report Tuesday by The Information, had “told people in the industry that he may have to shut down the company.”. Here are 12 of the best underrated horror movies you need to stream this Halloween, raised about $1.75 billion from major studios and other investors, Quibi picked up its first Emmys for Antoine Fuqua’s “#FreeRayshawn,”, fewer than 2 million customers in the first year of operation, Quibi execs insisting they’re catering to a different market segment, lawsuit filed by interactive-video company Eko, funded by activist hedge fund Elliott Management, Quibi denied a report that it was planning to make layoffs, “the dumbest thing to ever cost a billion dollars.”, Will Arnett and ATTN:'s 'Your Daily Horoscope' Animated Series Renewed for Season 2 at Quibi (EXCLUSIVE), Evening Before: Billy Porter, Jeremy Strong, Octavia Spencer, Seth McFarlane Drive Virtual Quarantunes MPTF Bash, Quibi Wins First Emmys at Creative Arts Awards for 'FreeRayshawn,' After Spending Top Dollar on Originals, The Best Comedies on Netflix to Watch Right Now, Everything Coming to Netflix in September, What's Coming to Disney Plus in September 2020. Quibi, the struggling short-form mobile video startup led by founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman, is shutting shut down the company after failing to find a … Quibi, the struggling short-form mobile video startup led by founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman, is shutting shut down the company after failing to find a buyer, according to a new report. Quibi, the mobile subscription TV startup founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, is exploring "strategic options" including a potential sale, the Wall Street Journal reported. WndrCo, the investment and holding company led by Jeffrey Katzenberg, invested $30 million in The Infatuation, a digital-media and events company focused on restaurant guides and food. NBCU was “put off by the fact that Quibi doesn’t own many of the shows it puts on its platform,” according to today’s Journal article. “Jeffrey [Katzenberg] and [CEO] Meg [Whitman] are 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.”. In March 2020, just ahead of Quibi’s April 6 debut, the L.A.-based company announced an additional $750 million tranche of funding from existing and new investors (which it did not identify). Quibi has disputed the figures as inaccurate but hasn’t disclosed its own subscriber figures. At the Creative Arts Emmy Awards last week, Quibi picked up its first Emmys for Antoine Fuqua’s “#FreeRayshawn,” with Laurence Fishburne and Jasmine Cephas Jones taking home the acting trophies in the short-form category. The company has seven-year licenses on its short-form series; after two years, content owners have the right to assemble the shows and distribute them elsewhere. 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Tech investors include China’s Alibaba Group. © Copyright 2020 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. “Especially when you think about prevalent now streaming services are, how much of a habit watching video on mobile is — it’s extraordinary.”. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. A spokeswoman said, “We do not comment on rumor or speculation.”, In a statement, the company said, “Quibi has successfully launched a new business and pioneered a new form of storytelling and state-of-the-art platform. The dispute centers on Quibi’s Turnstyle feature, which determines the orientation of a viewer’s phone (either horizontal or vertical) and presents content in the appropriate mode. 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But Who’s Buying? This story first appeared in the Dec. 18 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Quibi, the mobile subscription TV startup founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, is exploring “strategic options” including a potential sale, the Wall Street Journal reported. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. That funding round was led by VC firm Madrone Capital Partners; other investors were Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and John Malone’s Liberty Global.