Los Angeles-based Quibi markets itself as a mobile-first video-streaming platform, with shows clocking in at 10 minutes or less. CTV News and TSN will both produce daily shows for the service, which is set to launch in Canada on April 6 at a monthly price of $6.99, or $9.99 without ads. (The Logic)
Talking point: Quibi already has a star-studded marquee, with series in the works from Chrissy Teigen, Kendall Jenner, Steph Curry and Idris Elba. Earlier this week, the company closed its second round of funding worth US$750 million, bringing total investment in the firm to US$1.75 billion. Although hardly anyone has seen the product, the reputation of its founder, Jeffrey Katzenberg, seems to inspire confidence: he’s a Hollywood veteran who ran Disney’s movie studio in the 1980s and ‘90s and co-founded DreamWorks Animation. And Katzenberg doesn’t plan to compete in the streaming wars in which companies like Netflix and Disney Plus are engaged. He sees his platform as more in line with Instagram, YouTube or TikTok—apps where users can pass the time, or where you can “amuse yourself until you’re dead,” as The New York Times Magazine rather bleakly put it.