A new short-form video platform that plans to pit itself against the likes of Netflix and Disney has raised $1 billion US ($1.44 billion AUD), but still thinks it needs at least double this to get off the ground.
Quibi (as in ‘quick bites’) was first announced last year by former DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.
Combining their respective Hollywood and Silicon Valley knowledge, the duo came up with an idea – short-form content curated specifically for mobile.
The plan is for videos to be under 10 minutes each, with TV and movies broken down into bite-sized clips.
There will be a $5 US ad-supported subscription option and a $8 US ad-free premium tier.
Speaking at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin earlier this year, Katzenberg said the platform would launch 100 pieces of content a week.
The company has so far announced plans to develop content with the likes of Naomi Watts, Jason Blum and Justin Timberlake.
It also plans to produce ‘Frat Boy Genius’, based on the rise of Snapchat and its founder Evan Spiegel.
The Information reported that although the company has so far captured over $1 billion US in initial financing from Warner Bros and Alibaba, it is looking to private equity firms to help double this amount.
Following Apple announcing the launch of its own streaming service earlier this year and Disney also indicating it will launch its own service, Quibi is entering into an increasingly competitive market.
The service is planned to start in 2020.
