Quibi Gave Media Giants Lesson: Quick Bites Aren’t Sure Hits
- Viewers shied away from glossy shows in five-minute chunks
- Idea may not have justified stand-alone service, company says
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Quibi Holdings LLC faced many challenges during its short life: a global pandemic, Netflix Inc.’s dominance in streaming, and a fickle consumer with lots of other viewing options.
But ultimately, the very premise of the startup -- that smartphone users wanted to see highly polished shows chopped up into short bits -- may have been its undoing. Though the company blamed Covid-19 for hastening its demise, Quibi’s short-form approach to video never caught on with viewers. And that didn’t seem likely to change once the pandemic ends.