Soon after rumors started circulating that Roku was in the process of acquiring Quibi’s content, the company announced today that the deal was done and Quibi content will be streaming exclusively on The Roku Channel.
While financial terms of the deal were not discussed in the statement sent out by Roku and Quibi, inside sources for Wall Street Journal say the deal cost Roku less than $100 million, with one source saying the price tag was “significantly less” than $100 million. Quibi had raised $1.75 billion in funding before shutting down in December. Wedbush Securities media industry analyst Michael Pachter estimated the company’s value to be $500 million when it looked for possible buyers before calling it quits.
What did Roku get for under $100 million? The streaming platform acquired over 75 shows and movies that had already debuted on Quibi, along with over a dozen previously unreleased titles that will now premiere on The Roku Channel.
Roku will hold exclusive streaming rights to the content for the remainder of Quibi’s two year agreement with content creators, then will continue to have rights through 2027, a Roku spokesperson told WSJ.
The deal included content distribution rights from Quibi Holdings, LLC, but did not include Quibi technology, like its Turnstyle feature, according to Deadline.
Roku shares rose 5% to $398.60 following the news of the acquisition this morning.