Originally launching as a mobile-only streaming service, Quibi quickly added AirPlay support and, just this week, announced Chromecast support. Now, the quick bites app is taking another step toward making its content more accessible for a wider audience. Variety reports that Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg has been in talks with Roku and Amazon to build apps for their platforms.
A source for Variety shared that talks between Quibi and Roku are still in the early stages and that a discussion with Amazon has “recently picked back up.”
The move is likely motivated by recent reports that Quibi is set to miss the mark on its subscriber goals. New projections are showing that Quibi is likely to end the year with 30% fewer subscribers than it hoped for. Sources for Wall Street Journal say that Quibi is on track to end the year with 2 million subscribers, far less than the 7.4 million projected by Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman.
In April, Whitman said adding the ability to cast content had always been on the roadmap for Quibi, but that the pandemic had sped up those plans. AirPlay support was added at the end of May and Chromecast support followed earlier this month. The additions were a start toward giving subscribers the option to watch content on a larger screen. Creating apps for the two largest streaming platforms would open Quibi up to millions of potential subscribers who aren’t interested in being limited to viewing content on their phones.
While the no-longer-mobile-only service may be struggling, with a reported 1.75 billion invested in Quibi, Katzenberg and Whitman seem to be doing what they can to prevent folding in year one.
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