Quibi’s Tipping Point
There’s no doubt that Quibi is struggling right now. Since its launch a few months back, the new short-form streaming service has had low download numbers, a conversion rate of only 8% from free to paid subscribers, barely over a million daily active users, and is losing their advertisers. Internally, executives have left the company, the founders may not be the team we were once hoping for, and the work culture is getting a bad rep. The team has pivoted by allowing users to cast shows to their TVs and are working on a screenshot feature, but that won’t make much of a dent in getting subscriptions up. It’s not exactly clear what led to the app to launch with such bleak numbers. Jefferey Katzenberg blamed the pandemic earlier, saying that the numbers are not even close to their goals. Releasing the app during the coronavirus was a risk and the news headlines haven’t been friendly, but this raises an obvious question.
Is it the app or the pandemic?
It’s mainly the app. I’m not sure launching the platform during an ideal period would have saved these numbers (granted they would have probably been better, but still not near what they wanted). Yes, it’s true that Quibi’s entire concept goes down the drain when those “on-the-go” moments for consuming bite-sized media vanish with stay at home orders. It’s just hard to solely blame the pandemic for this when in reality, screen time on many platforms has generally increased. Seems like a perfect environment for more mobile content!
But, Quibi isn’t sticking for a mix of reasons. First, Quibi’s competition has changed. Originally, you would go on Quibi when waiting in line or on the train, meaning that you’re no longer on Instagram or Facebook with endless feeds. It was a promising approach because the app was going for a market that didn’t really compete with the streaming services, but social media really (Katzenberg and executives did say Quibi is not TV). Now, though, even if it’s not TV necessarily, it’s competing with Netflix, Prime, Disney Plus, and the other streamers because we would rather watch a show on TV than on our phones if we have the option. On the bus, you only have your phone, but that world of consumption habits is gone momentarily.
Some people say that TikTok hurts Quibi. It’s true, but so does Netflix, which is like a double whammy for them. Quibi isn’t a social media platform, yet is being outranked by many in the app store, and it isn’t TV, but it’s no match for streamers yet. It’s hard to know where the app stands in the pandemic because it’s almost competing with everybody.
It’s the wild wild west of content. All apps, streamers, platforms are in competition because it’s about getting users’ attention. I feel like I could spend half an hour either watching Indian Matchmaker on Netflix or going down a TikTok rabbit hole. Everything is in a pool together, and those markets that Quibi bet on are gone when you have bigger, better screens and content in front of you.
These are all criteria that are due to the pandemic, but Quibi lacks great content currently (and that’s why even with screen mirroring, it won’t get a substantial boost). Content is king without a doubt, and there’s nothing truly grabbing on Quibi, nothing that makes you say, “Oh yeah this is worth 8-bucks a month” for now. I did watch A Dangerous Game and Dummy, both fun, entertaining shows, but not groundbreaking (Answered by Vox is my favorite). Quibi basically needs its own House of Cards or Orange is the New Black to kickstart it. Frat Boy Genius, a story on Evan Spiegel’s success with Snapchat, totally had me, but we’ll have to wait for that to come out. Their content is their fundamental problem. I said in an article earlier before their launch that Quibi’s shows require too much emotional investment. Who cares if you scroll past eight videos in five seconds on TikTok? But a 10-minute movie on your phone that you need to watch all the way through still feels too long even when you’re just stuck at home.
The service is in a rough phase right now, but I think it could last and grow as Netflix did. Katzenberg was onto something when he said that the Quibi era will be in five years. I do believe that mobile viewing could be the future of entertainment. It just may not be the high-quality content that Quibi puts out. Unscripted, loosely scripted, and conversational shows are what my friends and I watch on our phones. It’s clips of The Daily Show on Facebook, it’s comedy bits on TikTok, it’s news from Good Luck America on Snapchat. They all have a low emotional investment (and they’re free). Quibi should pivot its content to meet the consumption habits of a younger, Gen Z audience who, way more than their parents, actually watch videos on their phones. I’d like to see Quibi take a stab at doing stand-up bits from new comedians, a news show that is tailored to Gen Z and feels more relaxed (what could The Skimm look like visually?), 2D and 3D animated shows for younger kids, something like WIRED’s Autocomplete Interview show, and most importantly, a story or a character that audiences can’t turn away from. Who’s Quibi’s Jon Snow or Hasan Minhaj?
Once Quibi gets a more solid footing on their content, their audience, and whether their biggest competitor is a dancing video app or a streamer with thousands of titles, they’ll reach a tipping point. They’ll catch on like wildfire as people get used to entertainment on their phones; they’re just five years ahead of their time. There is a mobile narrative era on the horizon; it’ll just take time to reach, and it may not even be Quibi that gets us there completely… but good stories are going into our pockets eventually.
