Quibi, an American mobile video platform, is now heading to iPhone users. After admitting that the platform experienced a rough start, the company now announces its counter-action against the pandemic. It is to bring their viewers in an easier format through their iOS devices. Will it work, though?
Quibi TV opens to iPhone users starting this week!
If you're stuck without doing anything at home due to the pandemic, here's a suggestion from the Quibi community.
After its release in early April, Quibi TV has finally rolled out the app for iPhone users. This week, the company of Quibi TV announces that the app will be soon available for iOS devices-- sometime this week.
Unfortunately, Android users might have to wait a little while before the app launches on the devices. For now, iPhone users will first have access to Quibi TV's few minutes long per episode programs. Perfect for traffic or when waiting in line for a cup of coffee.
The New York Times said that the app was only downloaded by 3.5 million users. It has 1.3 million active users, as of date, but Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg notes that the numbers were still too far away from their target goal.
"Is it the avalanche of people that we wanted and were going for out of launch?" Katzenberg told the Times. "The answer is no. It's not up to what we wanted. It's not close to what we wanted."
Quibi founder: Coronavirus pandemic may have caused the rough start
Katzenberg had also opened the possibility that the Coronavirus pandemic may have caused the rough start for the Quibi TV.
"Everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus," he told The NYT in a new interview
Quibi founder hopes that through the new and wider platforms for the app, the rough start for the company will boost to something else soon.
"There are a whole bunch of things we have now seen in the product that we thought we got mostly right," Katzenberg said, "but now that there are hundreds of people on there using it, you go, 'Uh-oh, we didn't see that.'"
Lots of competitions on the line
We all know how hard it is for new streaming sites to open a new set of viewers in today's generation. One negative factor is the competition among these platforms.
Netflix, for one, has recorded millions of users over the past years. Don't even include other giant streaming platforms such as Disney Plus or even Hulu.
Not only that, one of Quibi TV's biggest competitors-- which is Youtube-- has been reigning for mobile phone streaming for ages.
The Verge reported that Quibi might have decided to put their programs on iPhones-- not just for convenience-- but for their app to get to know by more viewers around the world.
