The consensus view, then as now, is that the content was not good, it was not shareable (no screenshots!), and that Quibi blew through too much money too fast, before they could figure out what they were doing. But also, they spent too little money to effectively compete with Netflix, HBO, Apple, Disney, etc.

It takes either audacious self-confidence or reckless hubris to build a completely asocial video app in 2020. You can decide which best describes Quibi, Hollywood’s $1.75 billion-funded attempt at a mobile-only Netflix of six to 10-minute micro-TV show episodes. Quibi manages to miss every trend and tactic that could help make its app popular. The... See more

Expanded to allow anybody to stream but the ‘everyday life’ content wasn’t gaining traction

The legacy companies (Disney, NBCU, Paramount, WBD, Fox) are stuck in a purgatorial period between media systems, trying to wring out the massive but rapidly declining profits of the linear age while transitioning to the sports streaming era. It’s like that puzzle in Die Hard with a Vengeance where Bruce Willis and Sam Jackson must move exactly the... See more