- Quibi, a streaming video service that has raised more than $1 billion in funding, is now available for pre-order in app stores, as first reported by TechCrunch.
- The mobile-only app will offer short-form video content and plans to officially launch in April.
- Quibi, short for "quick bites," was founded by former Yahoo CEO Meg Whitman and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg.
- It will become the latest player in the extremely competitive streaming video market, which includes major players like Netflix, Amazon, and most recently, Disney.
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Quibi, a streaming video startup that has raised $1.4 billion in funding, has given people their first look into what its app could look like. The app recently became available for pre-order in Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, as first reported by TechCrunch, though it isn't expected to arrive until April 6.
The mobile-only streaming service plans to offer shows with episodes that are 10 minutes or less, for $8 per month (or $5 with ads), which it calls "quibis" - short for "quick bites." Quibi also debuted its "Turnstyle" format earlier this year, which allows videos to seamlessly flip between landscape and portrait mode as users rotate their phones.
Quibi was founded by seasoned tech executive Meg Whitman and longtime Hollywood producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, who have helped the startup raise a massive amount of money from investors, including a recent $400 million round.
Much like Hulu, Quibi plans to make money from both subscriptions and ads, rather than owning the rights to its content like Netflix or Amazon. Whitman told Variety the company has already sold $150 million worth of ads. Quibi is "indifferent between [subscriptions and ads]," Whitman told Business Insider's Ashley Rodriguez in an interview, adding that "we'll see what the consumers want, and we'll follow their lead."
Consumers continue to spend more money on streaming video services, but Quibi will be entering a competitive market that includes major established players like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, as well as newcomers like Disney and Apple, which both launched their own services last year. WarnerMedia plans to launch HBO Max and NBCUniversal will roll out Peacock in 2020 as well, crowding the field even further.
Here's a screenshot of our first - very limited - glimpse at Quibi.
