Photo Credit: Quibi
Quibi has reached over 830,000 downloads in just three days since launch.
Jeffrey Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman are fearlessly leading the mobile-only video platform, even in the face of pandemic chaos. At launch, Quibi managed to pull in around 300,000 new subscribers for its three-month trial. But the length of that trial makes it impossible to gauge whether a mobile-only video service is viable right now.
Quibi is now in the top three free apps on the iOS App Store. It is currently ranked 6th on the Google Play Store. A Quibi spokesperson says they’re excited about the app’s general reception.
“We are really excited about the market reception during our first three days since launch,” the statement says. “We were also pleased by our rankings in both the Google Play Store and App Store. However, we are going to refrain from commenting about downloads and trials during this initial 90-day free trial period.”
Quibi focuses on offering video entertainment bites that are 10 minutes or less. They can be viewed in both portrait and landscape mode on a smartphone – with Quibi encouraging users to rotate their devices.
Quibi made its big splash on Monday with its 90-day free trial and $4.99 monthly ad-supported plan. But it’s too early to tell if these early launch numbers will spell success for Quibi.
The app’s success depends on whether platform establishes itself as something worth watching. The bite-sized content is often referred to as a “snack.” But when have you had a “snack” you’ve wanted to talk about with another person?
Katzenberg doesn’t seem to be concerned about early growth. He says the company is running a marathon, not a sprint. “We think it’s something we build over the course of several years,” Katzenberg said in a statement. We’ll see how many of these early adopters stick around after the content is no longer free.