Roku Set to Acquire Quibi's Program Library
Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) is poised to acquire the entire video catalog of short-form streaming outfit Quibi, the Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman start-up that sought to do for mobile video what Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) did for TV streaming.
Quibi was a mobile-only platform that shut down 18 months after launch due to a failure to attract any interest from the public. Although it had signed on some Hollywood star power to produce content, and lined up advertisers to help support it, the service didn't catch on at all with the public.
By acquiring the rights to the Quibi library, Roku will have available to it exclusive programming it can offer on its own Roku Channel platform to supplement the content produced by others.
Image source: Getty Images.
Quick demise
Quibi's shows were often episodic and ran less than 10 minutes long. The coronavirus pandemic may have seemed a unique opportunity for the service to gain traction, but Quibi was billed as a service for consumers to watch on the go or "in between moments" of their day, and stay-at-home orders and lockdowns that caused viewers to binge watch Netflix or Disney+ on their TVs left little incentive for them to watch mobile video.
Quibi, whose name is a mashup of "quick bite," signed artists with an arrangement where the programs would be exclusive to the site for between two and seven years. The Wall Street Journal says there is some disagreement over whether Roku will be able to air some of the programs, though Roku reportedly disputes it.
Financial terms for the acquisition were not available.
10 stocks we like better than Roku
When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*
David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Roku wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
*Stock Advisor returns as of November 20, 2020
Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix, Roku, and Walt Disney and recommends the following options: short January 2021 $135 calls on Walt Disney and long January 2021 $60 calls on Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
