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It was mobile first, so I could see how you could argue that a pandemic was bad for a platform built around mobile. Having said that, the management seems to ha

It was mobile first, so I could see how you could argue that a pandemic was bad for a platform built around mobile. Having said that, the management seems to have been crap too and it seems crazy that they weren't able to acqui-quit.

fastball 6y ago
I don't know anyone that has used their phone less during lockdown.
- Twirrim 6y ago
  I haven't used it for watching video media, that's gone way down now that I'm not commuting. When I watch videos now it's almost always on the TV instead. I'm not even sure if my streaming device supports Quibi.
  - redisman 6y ago
    Isn't the whole pitch that they're bite-sized? So you'll watch a clip on the toilet or while waiting for your turn in the covid test line. Mobile games and most apps are doing better than ever. This whole thing had a very "fellow kids" vibe, so I think the content must have been the main sticking point.
    - input_sh 6y ago
      Yes, but you have no idea how long that bite size will last. While scrolling your feeds or playing most games, you can stop at any time. You can't say ahead of time "I'm going to spend 6-8 min waiting in this line / at the toilet, enough for a byte-sized episode".
      - cik2e 6y ago
        There is this thing called a pause button. Which basically invalidates the whole concept of “bite-sized” entertainment to begin with. My biggest deterrent from streaming video away from home is data usage, not the length of the content.
        drusepth 6y ago
        I don't know if other people feel the same way, but I definitely feel a downside whenever I get invested in something (even a small bite of something) and then have to pause halfway through and resume at a later date/time. Tension drops, references to earlier things lose some meaning, you're completely pulled out of whatever you were watching and it starts feeling more like a disjointed effort to watch instead of a singular experience to enjoy.
        anon9001 6y ago
        I thought everyone felt this way.
        SilasX 6y ago
        Yep, that’s the irony: as much as they promote bite sized entertainment, their ten minutes is still too long for the use case they’re looking at. For people on the go (in transit, waiting in line), users want content that you can drop immediately. Like Reddit of Facebook or instagram. At the point where they’re willing to focus attention ... they want much longer stuff anyway. Quibi fails on both fronts. Edit: well, someone else said it more succinctly: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24856020 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24856020
        callalex 6y ago
        There is no pause button on human emotion. Good content evokes emotions. There’s a reason we use violent phrases like “torn away” when describing being pulled from an emotional state that some content put us in.
        freeone3000 6y ago
        If you're just going to pause it midway anyway, why not watch an actual episode of a real show on a streaming service you already have?
rajangdavis 6y ago
> It was mobile first, so I could see how you could argue that a pandemic was bad for a platform built around mobile This argument would have to ignore the massive success of TikTok during the pandemic.
- gnulinux 6y ago
  TikTok has been getting popular since summer 2019.
  - rajangdavis 6y ago
    TikTok usage tripled in 2020 versus doubled in 2019 (according to the Verge)
- drchiu 6y ago
  It’s kind of funny they got Meg Whitman to be the CEO of Quibi. Pretty sure Bella Poarch (or someone similar) would be a more appropriate choice for knowing how to get something viral.
  - jariel 6y ago
    She was for Ops. They had Jef Katzenberg for content. That said, maybe neither of them had their finger on the pulse, and they are too old and rich to be 'hands on' founders - so without some really competent lieutenants this was going to fail. $1B is goddam lot of money to spend on something with $0 capex. The mobile app is a tiny cost. So you have paying for the content then distribution. The later should have been royalty based and also drive most of the distribution. It almost smells fishy.
baobabKoodaa 6y ago
"Mobile first" implies that there's something second. Like a webpage that's optimized for a mobile experience but is also viewable on desktop. This could have been Quibi: they made vertical videos ("optimized for a mobile experience") but they could have also allowed users to view those videos on desktop. That would have been mobile first.
- DennisAleynikov 6y ago
  they did eventually enter TV streaming but way after their announced stance of Mobile-Only
  - wlesieutre 6y ago
    "Eventually" being a day or two ago
- chrisseaton 6y ago
  Do you understand how the culture changed, though? Do you realise people used to consume a lot of media on their phones vertically... but now they don't... for obvious reaons. That can't be that hard to understand? Market changed. Previously valid opportunity vanished. They didn't do anything wrong but be around at the wrong time.
  - naderkhalil 6y ago
    TikTok is mobile-first, vertical video format that I can still watch on my desktop. Makes sharing it or watching funny ones with SO very easy
    - rchaud 6y ago
      Portrait on TikTok makes sense because the videos shown in algorithm driven order and are usually around 1 minute long at most. People are also swiping to skip to the next video, and you can't swipe comfortably in landscape. A 10 minute Quibi episode is already half the length of a standard sitcom with ads (20 mins). It's not meant to be skippable. There really wasn't a need to make it portrait mode.
ffggvv 6y ago
meanwhile snapchat stock up 30% today
RobRivera 6y ago
Hehehe - acquihire, acquiquit. La misma cosa
rswail 6y ago
I don't get this "mobile". What you're talking about is "phone" first. People mostly use laptops for school/work, they spend their personal time on their phone. Saying that the pandemic has stopped people using their phones for this purpose is excuse-making bullshit.

fastball 6y ago

I don't know anyone that has used their phone less during lockdown.

Twirrim 6y ago
I haven't used it for watching video media, that's gone way down now that I'm not commuting. When I watch videos now it's almost always on the TV instead. I'm not even sure if my streaming device supports Quibi.
- redisman 6y ago
  Isn't the whole pitch that they're bite-sized? So you'll watch a clip on the toilet or while waiting for your turn in the covid test line. Mobile games and most apps are doing better than ever. This whole thing had a very "fellow kids" vibe, so I think the content must have been the main sticking point.
  - input_sh 6y ago
    Yes, but you have no idea how long that bite size will last. While scrolling your feeds or playing most games, you can stop at any time. You can't say ahead of time "I'm going to spend 6-8 min waiting in this line / at the toilet, enough for a byte-sized episode".
    - cik2e 6y ago
      There is this thing called a pause button. Which basically invalidates the whole concept of “bite-sized” entertainment to begin with. My biggest deterrent from streaming video away from home is data usage, not the length of the content.
      - drusepth 6y ago
        I don't know if other people feel the same way, but I definitely feel a downside whenever I get invested in something (even a small bite of something) and then have to pause halfway through and resume at a later date/time. Tension drops, references to earlier things lose some meaning, you're completely pulled out of whatever you were watching and it starts feeling more like a disjointed effort to watch instead of a singular experience to enjoy.
        anon9001 6y ago
        I thought everyone felt this way.
        SilasX 6y ago
        Yep, that’s the irony: as much as they promote bite sized entertainment, their ten minutes is still too long for the use case they’re looking at. For people on the go (in transit, waiting in line), users want content that you can drop immediately. Like Reddit of Facebook or instagram. At the point where they’re willing to focus attention ... they want much longer stuff anyway. Quibi fails on both fronts. Edit: well, someone else said it more succinctly: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24856020 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24856020
      - callalex 6y ago
        There is no pause button on human emotion. Good content evokes emotions. There’s a reason we use violent phrases like “torn away” when describing being pulled from an emotional state that some content put us in.
      - freeone3000 6y ago
        If you're just going to pause it midway anyway, why not watch an actual episode of a real show on a streaming service you already have?

rajangdavis 6y ago

> It was mobile first, so I could see how you could argue that a pandemic was bad for a platform built around mobile This argument would have to ignore the massive success of TikTok during the pandemic.

gnulinux 6y ago
TikTok has been getting popular since summer 2019.
- rajangdavis 6y ago
  TikTok usage tripled in 2020 versus doubled in 2019 (according to the Verge)
drchiu 6y ago
It’s kind of funny they got Meg Whitman to be the CEO of Quibi. Pretty sure Bella Poarch (or someone similar) would be a more appropriate choice for knowing how to get something viral.
- jariel 6y ago
  She was for Ops. They had Jef Katzenberg for content. That said, maybe neither of them had their finger on the pulse, and they are too old and rich to be 'hands on' founders - so without some really competent lieutenants this was going to fail. $1B is goddam lot of money to spend on something with $0 capex. The mobile app is a tiny cost. So you have paying for the content then distribution. The later should have been royalty based and also drive most of the distribution. It almost smells fishy.

baobabKoodaa 6y ago

"Mobile first" implies that there's something second. Like a webpage that's optimized for a mobile experience but is also viewable on desktop. This could have been Quibi: they made vertical videos ("optimized for a mobile experience") but they could have also allowed users to view those videos on desktop. That would have been mobile first.

DennisAleynikov 6y ago
they did eventually enter TV streaming but way after their announced stance of Mobile-Only
- wlesieutre 6y ago
  "Eventually" being a day or two ago
chrisseaton 6y ago
Do you understand how the culture changed, though? Do you realise people used to consume a lot of media on their phones vertically... but now they don't... for obvious reaons. That can't be that hard to understand? Market changed. Previously valid opportunity vanished. They didn't do anything wrong but be around at the wrong time.
- naderkhalil 6y ago
  TikTok is mobile-first, vertical video format that I can still watch on my desktop. Makes sharing it or watching funny ones with SO very easy
  - rchaud 6y ago
    Portrait on TikTok makes sense because the videos shown in algorithm driven order and are usually around 1 minute long at most. People are also swiping to skip to the next video, and you can't swipe comfortably in landscape. A 10 minute Quibi episode is already half the length of a standard sitcom with ads (20 mins). It's not meant to be skippable. There really wasn't a need to make it portrait mode.

ffggvv 6y ago

meanwhile snapchat stock up 30% today

RobRivera 6y ago

Hehehe - acquihire, acquiquit. La misma cosa

rswail 6y ago

I don't get this "mobile". What you're talking about is "phone" first. People mostly use laptops for school/work, they spend their personal time on their phone. Saying that the pandemic has stopped people using their phones for this purpose is excuse-making bullshit.