Didn’t get the chance to finish that final episode of Chrissy’s Court before Quibi shut down in October? You might be able to soon.
Video streaming company Roku announced that it’s acquiring Quibi’s library of content and making it available to stream on The Roku Channel. Roku says that this content accounts for over 75 different shows and hundreds of hours of entertainment.
Because there’s so much content, Roku says that Quibi shows will be rolling out sometime in the near future, making updates available on its blog.
Quibi exploded into the public eye in 2019 and early 2020. The company promised an array of premium shows that were no longer than 15 minutes and meant to be watched on the go. The company was founded by former Walt Disney Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg and former Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman, who were able to get $1.75 billion from investors in order to launch their product. Unfortunately, Quibi was losing money too quickly and didn’t get the traction it needed to survive. The service only lasted about six months before shutting down.
This was disappointing for the company, but audiences were let down as well. Quibi’s shows were exclusives to its platform. So when Quibi shut down, these shows had nowhere to go. It also put a lot of resources into making these shows — recruiting A-tier Hollywood talent like Chrissy Teigen, Liam Hemsworth, Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, Anna Kendrick and many more.
Despite the high production value, it seems like Roku may have gotten Quibi’s content for a steal. According to the Wall Street Journal, Roku paid “significantly less” than $100 million for the Quibi catalog.
It seems like the audience may be getting a steal too. Roku says that it will make this content available for free. When Quibi was still around, viewers had to pay $5 per month for a Quibi subscription or $8 per month for an ad-free subscription.
The Roku Channel is available through the Roku mobile app, the Roku smart TV app, on The Roku Channel website and via Roku streaming hardware. It offers both free and paid premium content.
