FILE PHOTO: Quibi CEO Meg Whitman speaks during a Quibi keynote address at the 2020 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Steve Marcus
(Reuters) – Mobile-only streaming service Quibi racked up more than 300,000 downloads on its launch day, industry site Sensor Tower said on Tuesday, as stay-at-home viewers lapped up its short films starring Hollywood A-listers.
The service is founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former chief of Walt Disney Co’s movie studio and Dreamworks Animation, and headed by former eBay Inc and Hewlett Packard Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman.
Quibi, rolled out on Monday, stands for “quick bites” and offers slickly produced movies, such as “Hunger Games” actor Liam Hemsworth’s thriller “Most Dangerous Game”, in chunks of 10 minutes or shorter.
The service, currently available only in the United States and Canada, will also deliver reality shows and news. Basketball superstar LeBron James appears in a documentary about his Ohio school for at-risk youth.
Quibi offers a 90-day free trial and will cost $5 a month with ads, or $8 a month without them, after that period.
Still, the downloads were fewer than Walt Disney Co’s streaming service, Disney+, first day downloads, which stood at 4 million, Sensor Tower data showed.
Quibi will compete with full-fledged streaming services such as Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon’s Prime Video and Netflix, as well as short-form entertainment platforms like TikTok and Alphabet’s YouTube.
Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila
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