Quibi — a new video streaming service — made its debut on Monday, April 6, and it’s unlike many other streaming services out there right now.
What is it?
- Quibi offers a slew of new television series broken down into short, bite-sized episodes. So instead of watching an hour-long drama, you might catch four or five eight-minute episodes of a show.
- The idea is to offer short-form video content to the consumer, like the videos we see on TikTok, Snapchat, IGTV and other platforms. But, unlike those app, these are all professional videos made as if they were going to arrive on Netflix.
- Quibi is unique in that there are two ways to watch videos. The service allows you to watch videos in either a horizontal or vertical format. The videos fill the entire screens, no matter which way you format it.
How much does it cost?
Quibi runs on a subscription model. The prices are:
- $4.99 per month with “some ads”
- $7.99 per month with no ads.
- You can subscribe now for a limited 90-day trial.
The bigger picture
- It’s a bold move. But it might be the future of television. As I wrote for the Deseret News, the service is a sign that TV culture could be changing from lengthy dramas to short videos.
- “You leave the house every morning with a little TV in your pocket. It’s called your smart phone,” said CEO Meg Whitman in 2018, according to Entertainment Weekly. “During the day, you have these in-between moments. Ten minutes here, 15 minutes there, where you want to see something great.”
Is it family-friendly?
- So far, based on the shows I’ve watched, the platform doesn’t appear to be too family-friendly. Many of the shows — especially the popular ones — are laced with curse words, adult content and mature themes, limiting how much children will get to use this app. It’s an odd move for Quibi since younger generations are more likely to embrace the screen-based video genre, so you’d think there would be more content for those in a younger generation.