Inside Quibi’s $2 Billion Fail – No, It Wasn’t the Pandemic

After just seven months and $2 billion, Quibi has became the first major casualty of the streaming wars. The short-form streaming company founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman announced Wednesday that it will shutter its operations. Launched in April in the early weeks of pandemic shutdowns, the subscription service targeting teenagers and young adults never gained any traction for shows told in under-10-minute “quick bites” meant to be consumed on smartphones — despite the involvement of big stars like Kevin Hart, Anna Kendrick and Liam Hemsworth. The widely publicized (and widely mocked) upstart becomes one of the biggest and most expensive tech flops of the past 20 years.