Quibi will introduce pre-roll ads for those who don’t opt for the ad-free version, which will run subscribers $4.99/month. Axios reports the mobile streamer has teamed with 10 exclusive companies for ads: Progressive, Discover, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, AB InBev, Taco Bell, Pepsi, T-Mobile, Google and Walmart.
At launch, Quibi will air ads from more than 25 brands owned by those 10 companies. The pre-roll ads will be of varied length: six, 10 or 15 seconds before each episode. Axios breaks it down this way: Longer videos, five to seven minutes, get 15-second ads, while shows of five minutes or less get shorter ones. Every program hour will include 2.5 minutes of ads.
However, per Variety, Quibi has canceled its launch event in Culver City, California, on April 5, due to the spread of coronavirus. The event was schedule a day before its official debut, April 6.
The streamer is continuing to add content. The latest is a Fire Island series called “Trip,” created by Joel Kim Booster. Billed as a romantic comedy inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novel “Pride and Prejudice,” “Trip” focuses on friends hoping for a special summer vacation at a popular destination a few hours from Manhattan.
Booster, a stand-up comedian, starred in the Hulu sitcom “Sunnyside.” He was featured in the Hollywood Reporter’s 2019 Comedy Issue as one of “comedy’s new LGBTQ Breakouts.” “Trip” is produced by JAX Media, which also produced ‘Broad City,” “Younger” and “Inside Amy Schumer.”
Separately, the streamer is embroiled in a legal batter over its Turnstyle technology. Eko charged Quibi with patent infringement. Turnstyle allows for seamless full-screen viewing in landscape or portrait mode.