After amassing 300,000 downloads in a single day, mobile-focused streaming service Quibi hit 1.7 million downloads in its first week, according to an interview with the platform’s CEO Meg Whitman during CNBC’s ‘Squawk on the Street.’
Quibi launched last Monday amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the service is designed to be viewed while users are on the go, it’s managed to gather a modest audience in a relatively short period of time.
“It turns out people have in-between moments at home,” said Whitman during the interview. “We don’t actually think it hurt us.” According to Whitman, 80 percent of Quibi users who have started a show watch it through the first episode. The CEO then goes on to state that the platform has surpassed launch expectations. Whitman also said the company is moving up its plans to allow Quibi to cast to TVs.
It’s important to note that current sign-ups are for a 90-day free trial of the service. The true test surrounding Quibi’s viability will be if the platform is able to continue attracting users once the trial period is over. Further, Quibi’s audience is relatively small compared Disney+, which managed to secure more than 10 million subscribers in a single day. To be fair, Quibi is an unknown brand, s0 understandably its initial growth wouldn’t be as substantial as a platform created by Disney.
In Canada, Quibi has an exclusive agreement with Bell related to original news content produced by CTV and TSN, including daily news program ‘NewsDay by CTV.’
Following the 90-day free trial, Quibi is priced at $6.99 CAD per month, with an ad-free subscription costing $9.99 a month.
Quibi, amusingly enough, stands for “quick bites.” The streaming service is available on iOS and Android.
Source: CNBC
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