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Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired

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Re: Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired

#91

Post by rockostrich »

thiagocesar wrote: post #59
mikeryan wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in this industry and generally agree with your assessment. However a few things, the general industry perspective went like this: 1. David Katzenberg and Meg Whitman were creating a consumer service targeting a demographic they don't fit in a field they've not worked in. (Consumer apps for a younger demographic) 2. They got 1.8 Billion in funding. For fuck's sake you should get one breakout hit piece of conten…

Apple, Quibi, Amazon are trying to plan the perfect breakout show. It doesn’t work like that. A lot of the networks’s and Netflix’s breakout shows were not planned to be great. That’s why they just greenlight a bunch of random pilots and see what sticks to the wall. It’s extremely hard to create hits.

I don't really think Amazon should be included with the other 2. I can't think of anything they've made that was "planned to be a breakout show" and didn't succeed. Their pilot program that they used to run might've been the reason for that. They're also really quick to give up on series that don't do well (which is pretty similar to Netflix).

Re: Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired

#93

Post by kevstev »

KallDrexx wrote: post #64
mikeryan wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in this industry and generally agree with your assessment. However a few things, the general industry perspective went like this: 1. David Katzenberg and Meg Whitman were creating a consumer service targeting a demographic they don't fit in a field they've not worked in. (Consumer apps for a younger demographic) 2. They got 1.8 Billion in funding. For fuck's sake you should get one breakout hit piece of conten…

That's easy to say in hindsight, but I think if the pandemic wouldn't really happen there's a good chance their conversion would be even higher. Their whole business model is meant for consumers who are on the go with short time bursts, which is exactly the opposite of what we have today. It very well could be that their shortage of content wouldn't have been as big of a deal because their ideal users weren't binging…

This does not resonate with me- you have masses of people who now have tons of free time on their hands, and in general the trend is towards shorter formats of entertainment- especially for the demographic they are targeting.

You are really telling me that people are too busy watching 2 hour documentaries or reading books to load up Quibi for a quick hit? I don't buy this at all. We don't still have lunch breaks?

I know this is kind of the "insider narrative" on this (I actually bought my house from someone fairly high up that relocated to the west coast to work there) but this really rings hollow. After reading some of Katzenburg's comments in an article a few months ago where he said "I blame everything that has gone wrong on Coronavirus. Everything." This is not a successful approach to thinking about why your product isn't getting the market fit you thought it would. Then throw in some highly annoyed comments when it was retorted that Tik Tok is thriving with "its comparing apples to submarines." With thinking like that I don't think they stand a chance really.

Personally I can not imagine a better time to launch a video platform than the onset of a pandemic where people are stuck inside with little else to do aside from consume content.

Re: Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired

#94

Post by umeshunni »

pkamb wrote: post #79

Where is the vertical video app that lets you watch your favorite YouTube/IG/Twitch-type “content creators” on your phone in the same easy/addictive format as Stories? That seems to be what people want, not network produced scripted tv made brief + vertical.

> Where is the vertical video app that lets you watch your favorite YouTube/IG/Twitch-type “content creators” on your phone in the same easy/addictive format as Stories?

I think you just described TikTok.

Re: Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired

#95

Post by webdestroya »

rockostrich wrote: post #91
thiagocesar wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple, Quibi, Amazon are trying to plan the perfect breakout show. It doesn’t work like that. A lot of the networks’s and Netflix’s breakout shows were not planned to be great. That’s why they just greenlight a bunch of random pilots and see what sticks to the wall. It’s extremely hard to create hits.

I don't really think Amazon should be included with the other 2. I can't think of anything they've made that was "planned to be a breakout show" and didn't succeed. Their pilot program that they used to run might've been the reason for that. They're also really quick to give up on series that don't do well (which is pretty similar to Netflix).

The Grand Tour?

Re: Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired

#97

Post by baddox »

thiagocesar wrote: post #59
mikeryan wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in this industry and generally agree with your assessment. However a few things, the general industry perspective went like this: 1. David Katzenberg and Meg Whitman were creating a consumer service targeting a demographic they don't fit in a field they've not worked in. (Consumer apps for a younger demographic) 2. They got 1.8 Billion in funding. For fuck's sake you should get one breakout hit piece of conten…

Apple, Quibi, Amazon are trying to plan the perfect breakout show. It doesn’t work like that. A lot of the networks’s and Netflix’s breakout shows were not planned to be great. That’s why they just greenlight a bunch of random pilots and see what sticks to the wall. It’s extremely hard to create hits.

> It doesn’t work like that. A lot of the networks’s and Netflix’s breakout shows were not planned to be great.

That might be true for a lot of breakout shows, but not all of them. House of Cards was arguably Netflix' first breakout show, and Netflix outbid other networks for House of Cards when they were just starting to focus on original programming. That was always painted in showbiz media as a very deliberate plan based on Netflix' data about their users' preferences.

Re: Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired

#98

Post by enos_feedler »

cgriswald wrote: post #80
jonny_eh wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And unsubscribing via iOS is surprisingly challenging.

I find your statement surprising. The ease of changing or removing a subscription is the largest reason I would subscribe through iOS to anything. Is there something specific to Quibi?

I've just got into the habit of unsubscribing every time I start a free trial on iOS. I just tap settings -> iCloud account -> subscriptions and then cancel the sub I just started. It gives me access throughout the trial and if I go to use it and it blocks me because the subscription ended I take measure of my own sadness to decide I want to pay.

Re: Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired

#99

Post by charlesju »

ObsoleteNerd wrote: post #14

8% is not a terrible conversion rate at all, and they’ve only just started. I’m not a Quibi user and have no vested interest in them either way but this is the third different article I’ve seen in the last week or 2 talking about how terrible they’re doing and now they’re about to crash and burn, because of an 8% conversion? Comparing them to Disney is ridiculous too, it’s Disney! With multiple generations obsessed w…

Another point. Especially with these content based services, it's all about the next piece of content you can provide.

For example, if Dave Chapelle signed an exclusive deal with Quibi, then all of a sudden those 92% that didn't want to come back will come back in droves.

Quibi isn't a lost cause, they set up the infrastructure and are just getting started on releasing content. Everything depends on if they can find their must-see-tv.

Re: Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired

#100

Post by baddox »

soared wrote: post #72
whoisjuan wrote: post #42

The problem with Quibi is thinking that they can charge for this content. People are not gonna pay for quick bite videos, even if they have a high production value. Why would anyone do that with such limited time? The problem of all these platforms is that they think they are creating a new market or expanding an existing one and they forget that people only have 24 hours a day to do things. If you create something l…

Tons and tons of people support youtubers with donations or on patron, which is in effect paying for content. I recognize the difference but I don’t think you can really make your claim so confidently.

But that's still very nearly the opposite sort of business model as Quibi. Youtubers generally start out with very little investment and build their audiences manually through grassroots interest. I don't know of anyone who has raised over a billion dollars and created a huge expensive production company upfront before then launching a Patreon account and getting enough $5/month patrons to make it worth it. That idea sounds ludicrous because it likely is ludicrous.
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