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The mobile-only video streaming service, Quibi, is shutting down after launching less than a year ago. The company raised over one billion dollars in capital but failed to secure a buyer.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, a Hollywood producer and the founder of Quibi, alongside Chief Executive Meg Whitman raised over $1.75 billion from investors including Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal, and Warner Media. The streaming service offered news and entertainment stories that ran ten minutes or less for $4.99-per-month. Despite the effort, Quibi struggled to garner subscribers.
The application attracted advertisers like Pepsi, Walmart, and Anheuser-Busch, locking in $150 million in ad revenue, but because of low viewership, advertisers deferred their payments.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Katzenberg called investors to tell them that he is shutting down the business. The shutdown comes after Katzenberg hired a reorganization firm. According to the Journal, the firm provided an index of solutions, one of them was to shut the company down.
The streaming service had many issues since it began in April – low viewership and downloads, and a lawsuit. Interactive-video company, Eko, filed a suit against Quibi for patent infringement. Eko claimed that Quibi stole trade secrets.
