Stephanie Sengwe is writer based in New York who covers companies in the streaming industry including AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Hulu, Roku, and Netflix . She also contributes daily news coverage on streaming services and devices for The Streamable.
After months and months of development, Quibi is finally here. The streaming service is modifying the streaming experience by keeping their content short and sweet, so you can watch on the go. Quibi, short for quick bites, will focus on high-quality short form content that is designed to be watched on your smartphone.
In January, Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg announced at CES 2020 in Las Vegas that the streaming service will roll out more than 175 new original shows and 8,500 quick bites of content by the end of the first year. Episodes will be seven to 10 minutes in length and will span the comedy, drama, reality TV and news genres.
Quibi has partnered with high profile celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen, Jennifer Lopez, Zac Efron, Dwayne Wade and a slew of others as content creators.
What Is the Price of Quibi?
The mobile streaming service will offer two plans — $4.99 with ads and $7.99 without ads. The ad-supported product will include a pre-roll ad, as well as a one to two mid-roll ads, depending on the length of the content.
Last week, T-Mobile announced that their un-carrier customers will see Quibi included in their Magenta family plans free of charge for a full year.
The offer is available for T-Mobile customers who have two or more voice lines at standard rates on Magenta and One plans with taxes and fees included — along with discounted First Responder, Military and Magenta Plus 55 plans — or small business customers with up to 12 lines. Customers can simply sign up at mytmobile.com and the offer is valid until July 7.
What Devices Are Compatible With Quibi?
Quibi is designed strictly for your mobile devices and has apps for both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android system.
The app comes with a new innovation Quibi dubbed “Turnstyle,” which allows for seamless fullscreen viewing whether the consumer is holding their phone in landscape or portrait mode.
What Movies and Shows Are Available on Quibi?
During CES 2020, Katzenberg revealed that the platform will have three categories of content: movies that will be released in chapters and told in episodes seven to 10 minutes in length; episodic/unscripted series and documentaries, which will amount to 120 shows in the first year alone and Daily Essentials, which will bring news and information from trusted sources and brands.
Below is a list of all shows available at launch.
Long-Form Narratives
Flipped
Most Dangerous Game
Survive
When the Street Lights Go On
Daily Essentials
60 in 6 (60 Minutes, but bite-sized)
NBC’s Morning Report, Evening Report, Saturday Report and Sunday Report
BBC’s Around the World
Telemundo’s Pulso News
Weather Today
Canada’s CTV’s NewsDay and NewsNight
Episodic
Chrissy’s Court
Elba vs. Block
Fierce Queens
Gayme Show!
Murder House Flip
NightGowns
Prodigy
Punk’d
Run This City
The Sauce
Skrrt With Offset
&Music
Gone Mental With Lior
Shape of Pasta
Singled Out
Thanks a Million
You Ain’t Got These
Dishmantled
Nikki Fre$h
Culture
Telemundo’s for the Cultura
Fashion’s a Drag
The Nod With Brittany & Eric
Sports
ESPN’s The Replay
Canada will offer an untitled sports show, which will stream seven days/week
Pop Culture
Last Night’s Late Night
No Filter
Close Up – from E! News
Pop5
Speedrun
Fresh Daily
Hot Off the Mic
Wellness
The Rachel Hollis Show
Sexology with Shan Boodram
All the Feels
The Daily Chill
Parental Controls
While most streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and even the novel ones such as Disney+ and Apple TV+ come with parental controls, there are no parental controls for Quibi — since it isn’t really designed for kids.
Offline Downloads
Quibi will let you watch and download shows to access on-the-go. This means even if you are without an internet connection, you can still stream your favorite shows and movies.
Stephanie Sengwe is writer based in New York who covers companies in the streaming industry including AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Hulu, Roku, and Netflix . She also contributes daily news coverage on streaming services and devices for The Streamable.
