Quibi Co-Founder Blames The App’s Lack Of Success On The Coronavirus Pandemic

Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-founder of the streaming app Quibi, blames the coronavirus for the apps’ lack of success. Since its official launch on April 6, Quibi has brought in a discouraging 2.9 million downloads, which is not on track for the companies projected 7 million subscribers for the year.

“Is it the avalanche of people that we wanted and were going for out of launch, “Katzenberg said. “The answer is no. It’s not up to what we wanted. It’s not close to what we wanted.”

Quibi is a streaming app for mobile devices only. Its essence focuses on minimal usage for users that want to watch 5 to 10-minute episodes at a time When initially downloaded, users are offered a 90-day free trial (in the U.S. and Canada), but after the trial is over, they must either pay 4.99 a month for the ad-sponsored version or $7.99 a month for the ad-free showing.

According to Hollywood Reporter, the company believed that the millions of people who are forced to abide by their state’s stay-at-home orders would use the app to stream their shows as many have had to alter the way they share their content.

Since Quibi debut, the streaming app has been compared to the likes of TikTok, an app that allows users to create short-form mobile videos. Unlike, Quibi, TikTok has been downloaded over 1.5 billion times through Google Play and the App Store.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

“That’s like comparing apples to submarines,” Katzenberg said to New York Times […] “I don’t know what people are expecting from us. What did Netflix look like 30 days after it launched? To tell me about a company that has a billion users and is doing great in the past six weeks, I’m happy for them, but what the hell does it have to do with me?”

Katzenberg continued:

“I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus. Everything. But we own it. If we knew on March 1, which is when we had to make the call, what we know today, you would say that [its] not a good idea. The answer is, it’s regrettable. But we are making enough gold out of hay here that I don’t regret it. My hope, my belief was that there would still be many in-between moments while sheltering in place. There are still those moments, but it’s not the same. It’s out of sync.”

Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Quibi company has decided to reduce its initial projections for 2020  and to seemingly halt releasing any new content. Katzenberg believes that once the shutdown is over and people return back to work then, they will return to using their phone in which Quibi was created.

“I am very pleased with where we are, especially only five weeks in,” Katzenberg said to The Wrap. “The good news is, we now have customers, and we are learning more about what those customers want.”