Quibi, the mobile streaming service from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, saw 1.7 million downloads of its app in its first week of operation, Whitman said Monday.
Whitman, appearing on CNBC this morning, said the number exceeded company expectations, noting that 80% of users who started watching a show completed the first episode, suggesting strong engagement for the service, which launched April 6.
Preliminary data showed Quibi was installed by 300,000 users across Apple and Andriod devices on its first day of launch, compared to 4 million installs for Disney+ on its launch day in November. The Quibi total was 530,000 at the end of day two, according to analytics firm SensorTower.
Quibi offers short bites — with top talent in front of and behind the camera — meant to be consumed on the go on a handheld device. With shelter-in-place widespread owing to the coronavirus pandemic, not many people are moving around these days. Katzenberg said ahead of the launch that had considered delaying it but decided not to, offering a 90-day free trial instead.
After 90 days, subscribers will pay $4.99 a month for an ad-supported version or $7.99 a month for no ads.
Also notable in Monday’s interview, Whitman said the company is working on making the app cast to TV screens, a feature she said had always been planned but was not available at launch. That is one capability that would be useful during the shutdown – Quibi was meant to be consumed on the go but there’s not much go happening now thanks to stay-at-home restrictions.
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