Quibi preps 50 originals for launch

Quibi will launch with a line-up of 50 original shows featuring Hollywood talent in the US and Canada next month, the shortform video platform has confirmed.

Jeffrey Katzenberg

Stars including Jennifer Lopez, Chrissy Teigen, Chance the Rapper, Liam Hemsworth, Sophie Turner, Lena Waithe, Nicole Richie and Reese Witherspoon will all feature on Quibi when the app arrives in North America on April 6.

Scripted and non-scripted titles include Survive, Most Dangerous Game, Thanks a Million, Chrissy’s Court, Murder House Flip, Last Night’s Late Night and The Replay by ESPN.

Quibi, which hosts content designed to be viewed on the go with episodes less than 10 minutes long, is aiming to have released 175 original shows and 8,500 pieces of shortform content in its first year.

The mobile-first platform’s launch partner in Canada is telco Bell, with Canadian news and sports providers CTV News and TSN set to produce curated daily content for Quibi.

Bell will market Quibi, which is led by former Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, through Bell Media and Bell Mobility. It will be available from April 6 for C$6.99 (US$5.14) per month with advertising and C$9.99 without.

In the US, the service will be priced at US$4.99 per month for the ad-supported version and US$7.99 per month for the ad-free edition. It is currently offering a 90-day free trial for a limited time.

Quibi will offer three categories of content: movies in chapters; unscripted and docs; and daily essentials, which are five- to six-minute episodes of news and entertainment content.

Movies in Chapters are big stories told in chapters seven to 10 minutes long.

Unscripted and docs will be divided into food, fashion, travel, animals, cars, builds, music, sports, comedy, talk, variety, documentary and more, all with episodes less than 10 minutes long.

Daily Essentials are curated daily into five- to six-minute quick bites of news, entertainment and inspiration.