Quibi Is Failing, and Netflix, Roku, and Disney Keep Winning
It's been more than a month since the launch of Quibi, and it's now fair to say that the star-studded streaming service with a different but perhaps too quirky business model is a flop. In a New York Times interview published Monday, Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg detailed the premium platform's initial shortcomings.
Katzenberg lays the blame for Quibi's slow start squarely on the shoulders of the coronavirus pandemic. The service is entertaining just 1.3 million active users despite springing for Super Bowl ads earlier this year and a murderers' row of short-form content. Social media is blasting Katzenberg for his comments, especially since Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU), and Disney's (NYSE: DIS) namesake service are seemingly thriving in the new normal. Katzenberg isn't entirely off the mark in playing up the pandemic that's been a tailwind to larger platforms as a headwind for Quibi, but it also doesn't hurt to recognize that the model was going to be flawed anyway.
Chrissy Teigen in a judge's robe on her short-form courtroom show. Image source: Quibi.
Source Fool.com