[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Quibi, a mobile-focused online streaming service (OTT) that entered the 'short-form' video competition, recorded 1.7 million downloads in its first week after launch.
Mac Whitman, Quibi's CEO and former HP and eBay executive, appeared on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on the 13th (local time) and stated that the 1.7 million downloads exceeded Quibi's initial expectations.
Quibi, a shortened form of "Quick Bites," which means a small snack, emphasizes short-form videos of about 4 to 10 minutes. Unlike other OTT platforms that connect to TV and PC, Quibi focuses solely on mobile. Even movies longer than two hours are divided into short-form videos of about 10 minutes. Unlike Netflix, which allows account sharing, Quibi operates on a one account, one stream principle.
Initially, Quibi planned not to disclose subscriber numbers or app download counts until the 90-day free trial period ended. CEO Whitman, who mentioned the figures on this day, also showed caution by noting that the 90-day free trial period is still ongoing. Although 1.7 million downloads surpass analysts' forecasts, it is a modest scale compared to the "giant OTT" Disney+, which launched last year and secured over 10 million subscribers on its first day.
Inside and outside the industry, concerns were raised that mobile-focused OTT might struggle to gain attention as most viewers enjoy numerous contents on full-screen TVs at home due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Quibi was created to allow app users to watch short videos while waiting to buy coffee or during their commute.
CEO Whitman seemed aware of such criticism, emphasizing, "We have plans to integrate Quibi with TV," indicating a shift from mobile to TV systems. He explained, "We will see if we can accelerate this in the current engineering roadmap. Ultimately, it will move to a system integrated with TV. We just didn’t include this service at launch, but if we had known about COVID-19 in advance, we would have included it."
The short-form trend is expected to become more popular. Starting with TikTok, which shares videos of 15 to 60 seconds, short-form content consumption has increased as people watch brief videos whenever they have time on their smartphones. Recently, Google and Twitter have also joined this short-form competition. YouTube is preparing "Shorts," a platform similar to TikTok, and Naver has also launched "Blog Moment," a short-form video editing service.
Quibi's moves are expected to further intensify the short-form competition. Currently, the average age of Quibi subscribers is in their 30s. Advertising for the first year has already sold out. After the ongoing 90-day free trial ends, the service will operate with two subscription plans: $4.99 per month (with ads) and $7.99 per month. On the same day, CEO Whitman also mentioned in an interview with Fox Business that they are preparing to produce original programs by November.
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