Quibi, a billion-dollar startup, might have to raise a lot more money to stay afloat
We swear we did not originally intend on charting Quibi’s startling downward spiral since its April 6 launch. However, when you base a billion-dollar streaming startup on the very narrow possibility that people might want to watch Chrissy Teigan cosplay as a judge during smoke breaks, it’s hard not to temper our curiosity. The struggling platform has practically served up the blueprint for what not to do: Don’t launch a major streaming service with zero brand recognition in the middle of a pandemic (not that brand recognition is doing much for HBO Max). Don’t allow your legal team to bully harmless, small-time creators—especially when they are freely dishing out the positive P.R. you so desperately need. Definitely don’t limit your content to mobile-only viewing when everyone is mere feet away from their television screens for months on end. The parade of ill-conceived decisions has culminated in a hefty price tag for CEOs Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. But perhaps the most outlandish development since Quibi’s inceptions comes courtesy of a report from The Wall Street Journal, which notes that the streamer will likely need to raise hundreds of millions of dollars just to stay afloat.
On Sunday, WSJ’s Benjamin Mullin released a report about Katzenberg and Whitman’s tumultuous working relationship, which outlines the many ways that the former’s micromanaging and dictatorial behavior challenged Whitman’s professional resolve, causing her to almost leave the company before launch. As Mullin writes, Quibi’s relatively unsuccessful start has further strained the duo, as they now have to face disappointed investors and an underwhelmed public while they “[fight] for relevance in a crowded field.” But the real kicker lies in the stunning financial optics, expressed by both dollars and downloads: