Quibi in advanced talks to sell its content to Roku: Report
"The financial terms of the proposed deal couldn't be learned. The deal talks could still fall apart," the report said on Sunday.
San Francisco: The short-form video streaming service Quibi is in advanced talks to sell its content to Roku, owner of the most popular streaming media player in the US.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Roku would acquire rights to Quibi’s library.
“The financial terms of the proposed deal couldn’t be learned. The deal talks could still fall apart,” the report said on Sunday.
Quibi’s shows, with episodes less than 10 minutes in length, feature stars as Anna Kendrick, Liam Hemsworth and Sophie Turner.
Roku is aggressively pushing into content with its own ad-supported app, the Roku Channel, which offers movies and shows produced by other companies.
“A deal with Quibi would give Roku a roster of exclusive programming,” the report mentioned.
Quibi that was launched last year announced to wind down the business and sell its content and technology assets within less than six months of operations.
Launched at the beginning of the pandemic with plans to reach 7.4 million subscribers this year, the platform fell far short of that.
Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman said in an open letter: “Our failure was not for lack of trying; we’ve considered and exhausted every option available to us”.
The company was aiming to return funds to investors, including major Hollywood players who put in about $1.75 billion in Quibi.
Quibi was launched with a goal to create a new category of short-form entertainment for mobile devices.
The founders said that over the coming months, they will be “working hard to find buyers for these valuable assets who can leverage them to their full potential”.
