Jeffrey Katzenberg, the founder of Quibi. – Chris Pizzello / AP / SIPA
The containment will not prevent
Quibi to try to revolutionize the entertainment industry by launching its “nomadic” streaming service on Monday, with short programs specifically designed for mobile phones but “in Hollywood quality”.
Attracted by this innovative project and the billions of dollars promised by Quibi, the stars of the big and small screen have jostled to produce films and series, Steven Spielberg in Guillermo del Toro via Jennifer Lopez and Reese Witherspoon.
Nomadic “bites”
All of Quibi’s content will be broadcast in increments of ten minutes maximum, “bites” (“quick bites” in English, abbreviated as Quibi). In the same spirit, all the programs are produced in both vertical and horizontal format, automatically switching from one to the other when the spectator tilts his phone.
A technology and a concept perfectly calibrated for a “nomadic” use on mobile, which can certainly seem unsuited to the current confinement. Quibi, who had long anticipated the launch of his service on April 6, made the bet to maintain his plans without being sure of what the future holds.
“Honestly, we don’t know, because the launch comes at a time without equal,” Quibi chief executive Meg Whitman told AFP. “I don’t think anyone has ever experienced anything like this,” said the former eBay boss.
A supplied and enticing catalog
The idea is to seduce young workers likely to consume a bite or two of ten minutes on public transport or during their coffee break. The coronavirus pandemic has put an end to these daily habits, but Quibi leaders believe that containment can also create such a need. “People still have moments of transition, it’s just different,” said Meg Whitman, citing an example of a parent looking to ease the tension between two home education sessions for their children. “I spend my life on Zoom [plateforme de visioconférence]. But if I have ten or fifteen minutes between two calls here and there, I will watch Quibi, “she said.
Quibi has for its advantage a supplied and enticing catalog: 50 programs available from the first day, 175 original creations guaranteed for its first year, underlines its patron. If Hollywood stars responded, it was thanks in particular to the presence of Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Disney boss (1984-1994) and co-creator of Dreamworks studios, originally from Quibi.
Films like the psychological thriller Survive, with the star of Game Of Thrones
Sophie Turner, and Most Dangerous Game with Liam Hemsworth are expected to act as calling products for early adopters. A few episodes will be available at the launch of Quibi, but the rest will be distilled once a day, the idea being to keep viewers in suspense like the good old days of terrestrial television. Other programs are already planned until the fall, but the rest is uncertain, Hollywood has been stopped since the start of the pandemic.
Subscriptions between 5 and 8 dollars
To retain subscribers, Quibi also relies on daily news, sports and entertainment, a type of content that is difficult to produce as long as the studios remain closed. The Quibi subscription will cost $ 5 per month with advertising or $ 8 without. To take into account the financial difficulties created by the health crisis, the platform increased its trial offer from two weeks to 90 days.
To encourage young people to abandon YouTube, TikTok or Instagram, with free but generally amateur programs, Quibi relies on the quality of its content, as HBO did in its time to compete with traditional channels. “We pay up to $ 100,000 a minute for our feature films,” says Meg Whitman, a budget comparable to that of major productions from Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max or Disney +. But Quibi doesn’t see them as rivals, but aims to become “the new wave of entertainment,” she said.
“There were films, there was television, then streaming. And now maybe there’s a new way to tell mobile stories in Hollywood quality, ”she concludes.
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