T-Mobile is giving away one year of Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s upcoming, mobile-only content streaming service, Quibi, to its unlimited wireless family plan customers, the company announced Thursday.
Set to launch April 6 with more than 50 original shows from stars like Jennifer Lopez, Chrissy Teigen, Chance the Rapper, Liam Hemsworth, Sophie Turner, Lena Waithe, Nicole Richie and Reese Witherspoon, Quibi is focusing on “quick bites” of content for your phone that you can watch in 10 minutes or less.
As part of the T-Mobile and Quibi partnership, “T-Mobile customers with two or more voice lines at standard rates on Magenta and ONE plans with taxes and fees included — along with discounted First Responder, Military and Magenta Plus 55 plans — or small business customers with up to 12 lines will score a subscription to Quibi (regularly $4.99) included in their plan at no added cost. Customers can sign up between now and July 7 to get Quibi added to their plan on us.”
T-Mobile currently offers its unlimited wireless family plan customers a free Netflix subscription, or “Netflix on Us.” According to the company, “After a full year of Quibi on Us and Netflix on Us, customers can choose to continue with one or the other.”
“T-Mobile customers have always been ahead of the curve – streaming more data, watching more mobile video – so when we first heard about Quibi, we knew our customers would love it!” said Mike Sievert, President and CEO of T-Mobile. “And, with more of us staying home right now, Quibi’s never been more needed. It comes on the scene with a totally different experience, made for mobile, quick to watch and as entertaining as anything you’ve ever seen!”
“Quibi and T-Mobile are a perfect match — we’re both changing our industries by giving our customers what they want in truly unique and innovative ways,” Whitman, CEO of Quibi, added. “And, since Quibi is built for an optimal mobile experience, we chose T-Mobile as our exclusive wireless launch partner. With the only nationwide 5G network, T-Mobile was the obvious choice for our customers.”
Quibi is set to release 175 shows within its first year. The platform will cost $4.99 per month for ad-supported streaming and $7.99 for ad-free service. Quibi is currently offering a 90-day free trial for a limited time to those who sign-up at Quibi.com before April 20.
The Los Angeles-based company has raised about $1.75 billion and will be launching soon before other big-name streaming services from WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal are planning to debut. Quibi will also be fighting a range of other services for viewers’ attention, including Netflix, the streaming leader, and Disney+ — not to mention popular video sites like YouTube. Still, in a recent interview with TheWrap, Katzenberg said Quibi isn’t worried about competition from services like Disney+ when it comes to winning over subscribers.
“We’re in a marathon, not a sprint,” Katzenberg said. “Disney+ is a 100-year brand with the most valued and important generational IP on earth, ever. We’re a different use case, and we don’t have the same brand recognition. So we don’t think we’ll take off like a rocketship. We think it’s something we build over the course of several years.”