While the world is reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of people sitting at home all around the globe, streaming services have seen their popularity soar. So, you’d think now would be the best time to launch a new platform, right? Well, it appears that Quibi is banking on it, and over the first week of release, the new streamer is becoming pretty darn popular.
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Speaking on CNBC recently, Quibi CEO Meg Whitman talked about the launch of the new streaming service and what plans it might have for the future. Apparently, over the first week of release, the Quibi app was downloaded 1.7 million times. Though that number might pale in comparison to the likes of Disney+ and Apple TV+, Quibi is happy with those results, as the company is not only brand-new to the world of streaming with no built-in fanbase, but the platform is actually hoping to change how people view content in a big way.
Instead of focusing on streaming long episodes and films on their TVs, Quibi is a platform devoted to mobile viewing with “quick bite” episodes of roughly 7 to 10 minutes each. The idea is that many people, who are on the go, only have a certain amount of time to watch something, and they might be interested in a streaming service geared towards people on a break, commuting, or just sneaking away for several minutes.
But with people at home mostly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s adding a wrinkle to the launch that Quibi probably didn’t anticipate. That being said, the CEO is pleased with the launch results.
“It turns out people have in-between moments at home,” Whitman said. “We don’t actually think it hurt us.”
In fact, Whitman confirmed that Quibi is actually fast-tracking plans for the app to be able to “cast” to TV screens. That would allow people stuck at home to actually view those “quick bites” on a much larger screen and in a more long-term setting. And if that’s the case, it could actually open up the app to a larger number of potential subscribers.
All things considered, 1.7 downloads is pretty strong for Quibi and does show that there is room for more than just the streaming giants like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disney, and Apple. But with Peacock and HBO Max on the horizon, we’ve only just begun to see how the streaming landscape will change in 2020.