Short-form streaming service Quibi is pulling the plug on the platform aimed at smartphone users hungry for entertainment on the go.
The brainchild of Hollywood powerhouse Jeffrey Katzenberg, Quibi launched in April with content tailored towards busy people just as the pandemic compelled them to slow down and stay in.
"Quibi was founded to create the next generation of storytelling," Katzenberg said in a release on Wednesday, October 21.
"The world has changed dramatically since Quibi launched and our standalone business model is no longer viable."
Katzenberg reportedly tried to sell the startup's catalogue of programmes to companies including NBC Universal and Facebook without success.
The streaming service has more than 100 original series spanning a range of genres, with episodes specifically designed for viewing on smartphones and lasting no more than 10 minutes each, according to the startup.
"We have assembled a world-class creative and engineering team that has created an original platform fuelled by ground-breaking technology and IP, enabling consumers to view premium content in a whole new way," Katzenberg said.
Quibi now plans to wind down operations and sell off its assets.
The fledgling platform scored 10 Emmy nominations, including for cop spoof revival Reno 911! and dystopian thriller Most Dangerous Game, including two Emmy wins for actors in #FreeRayshawn.
The multi-billion-dollar streaming platform had bet it could transform entertainment with short, Hollywood-quality clips.
Industry legends and stars from Steven Spielberg and Guillermo del Toro to Jennifer Lopez and Reese Witherspoon were among those who lined up to make films and shows for the youth-focused, smartphone-only service.
Hollywood stars committed to work with Quibi thanks to Katzenberg, a towering figure in tinseltown who ran Disney Studios for a decade and co-founded DreamWorks.
Quibi had also hoped to keep users coming back with daily news, sports and entertainment shows.
"Quibi was a big idea and there was no one who wanted to make a success of it more than we did," Katzenberg and Quibi chief executive Meg Whitman said in a letter to employees posted on Medium.
"Our failure was not for lack of trying; we've considered and exhausted every option available to us."
Quibi was a big idea and there was no one who wanted to make a success of it more than we did. Our failure was not for lack of trying; we've considered and exhausted every option available to us
While Quibi specialised in short-form shows to watch during spare minutes of the day, people who hunkered down at home because of the coronavirus pandemic found time for big-screen options in an increasingly competitive streaming television market.
Disney+, launched by The Walt Disney Company late last year, reported 57.5 million paid subscribers as of the end of June.
It leverages a huge catalogue of Disney animated classics along with its Pixar, Marvel and National Geographic films – not to mention its wildly successful Star Wars franchise.
Meanwhile, Netflix has added 28.1 million paying subscribers so far this year, reporting this week that it now has slightly more than 195 million total subscribers.
Netflix and rival Amazon Prime invest billions of dollars in original content to win fans and keep them loyal.
Apple TV launched late last year with a limited catalogue but a low-priced subscription service, while NBC Universal Peacock and HBO Max streaming television launched earlier this year.
Quibi also had to compete for younger viewers' time with millions of free – often user-generated – videos hosted by YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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