Like Tiger King, Quibi was one of those pop culture phenomenons that essentially lived out its entire life cycle in the middle of a pandemic. The portmanteau may have been a product of the pre-coronavirus world, but the platform designed to watch stuff on your phone while commuting debuted amid worldwide lockdown, struggled to gain a foothold despite more than a billion spent on original content, and eventually shut down mere months after it officially launched.
That pandemic is still ongoing, of course, but things are different now. And the new owners of Quibi’s intellectual property says they got a good deal when they ponied up for the now-defunct streaming service’s library of “quick bites.” In fact, according to Roku the newly-branded Roku Originals have gotten more eyeballs in mere weeks than they ever did on the fledgling mobile platform they were designed for.
According to Deadline, Roku did not share specific streaming details but said its library of content got much more use from its user base on the ad-supported platform than Quibi ever got, even with all those free trials they had at the onset of its launch.
Roku Originals launched on May 20, with a lineup of about 30 shows initially made for Quibi, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s mobile streaming service. From launch through June 3, more Roku active accounts streamed a Roku Original than the number of Quibi accounts that streamed Quibi shows during the start-up’s entire run.
That’s a similar line Roku executives have given reporters as well. Speaking with reporters on Friday at Tribeca, Roku CEO Anthony Wood said the company plans to invest in more original content in the future after the success they’ve seen with Quibi’s leftovers.
“To be honest we just got a good deal,” Wood said. “It was great content, high production value at a price that was quite reasonable.”
And the company says the purchase was a successful one. Roku says more people streamed a Roku Original in the first two weeks on the platform than the number of Quibi accounts streamed the content in the lifetime of that service. Roku did not give any specific numbers or figures, but said that the originals launch led to a record number of accounts viewing Roku Channel, and that the top 10 most-watched shows on Roku Channel were all Roku Originals.
For many with smart TVs or streaming devices, Roku had long been the thing that had other streaming services on it like HBO Max and Netflix. But the attention Roku’s channel has gotten here is good news for the Pluto enthusiasts and the like out there in the streaming space that don’t mind a few ads playing in between intended commercial breaks.
And, in a way, it’s just nice to know that someone is finally watching all that stuff that cost investors a billion-plus to make. So congratulations, again, to anyone who managed to secure the bag during that gold rush for finally getting viewers to actually watch what you created.
