Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

theverge.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 202 posts

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

#161

Post by hardwaregeek »

bawolff wrote: post #157
bonestamp2 wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure a lot of us are looking forward to it -- it's good source material, but there's no guarantee that they will pull it off well, or that even if they do a great job, that it will be a hit.

Its pretty terrible source material if your trying to make a mainstream hit. The foundation is great, but its not your traditional laser-battle big budget mainstrean action-sf thingy.

Yeah the thesis of the books (well until the Mule) is that no one person makes a big difference and it's all due to larger historical forces. Although it'd be hilarious if we follow a hero only for the show to conclude with "welp guess macro effects in galactic trade are really what caused the Empire to fall"

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

#162

Post by santoshalper »

peteretep wrote: post #154
enitihas wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon does have breakout shows. They have won the last 2 emmy for best actress in a comedy TV series.

> Amazon does have breakout shows. They have won the last 2 emmy for best actress in a comedy TV series. I’m not disputing either of your presented facts, per se, but the first of those is absolutely not implied by the second.

So much so, in fact, that I have to think it was sarcasm.

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

#163

Post by bscphil »

CedarMills wrote: post #22

Quibi has the problem that other platforms like it have: thinking celebrities are the right way to entice people. Luminary Podcasts has the same issue. Majority of gen Z / millennial folks that I know, don't care about Trevor Noah or any of the late night comedians. They care more about famous YouTubers and TikTok stars.

I'm a young millennial, and my perspective is that all of these nighttime shows are supposed to be funny, but none of them are really designed to be funny to my demographic. The Tonight Show (the Stephen Colbert one) seems directed at 55+ liberals, from what I can tell. Last Week Tonight is the only one of these shows I ever watch, and I don't tune in to see it, I just catch the specials they upload to YouTube.

But I suspect that "YouTube celebrities" are not something that platforms like Quibi can tap into. I'd say the whole phenomenon could easily be a symptom of which platforms kids (Even though I fit the bill of watching YouTube rather than TV, I don't think Quibi would be successful by hiring "Dude Perfect" or whoever (just to pull the first name I recognized off the trending tab). Personally, I have about 50 subscriptions on YouTube, and the median channel has only ~330k subscribers. The biggest (Last Week Tonight) has less than 10 million. Taking me as an indicator of what millenials are doing would be the worst kind of anecdata, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that a majority of people my age aren't following any of the so-called celebrities. What's a name that would pull me to a new platform? ... I can't come up with one, actually. And kids are on YouTube because it's free and easy to access - they're not potential Quibi subscribers either.

(Sorry for the long comment, yours was interesting and provoked some introspection.)

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

#164

Post by xmprt »

jm4 wrote: post #105
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…

Their mistake is they're trying to do something that all the other established players could essentially replicate overnight. Their big innovation is the shows are shorter? On top of it, their execution is poor. They put out the standard shows you would see anywhere else except edited so that a single episode turns into a half dozen shorter ones. They pretty much positioned themselves out in no man's land between Net…

I think if Quibi really wanted to succeed they should have partnered with YouTubers and TikTokers instead of big celebrities. They could spend more on production instead of paying just for the celebrities to be there. And the marketing is free because every online content creator is going to promote their own show.

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

#165

Post by rdlecler1 »

mikeryan wrote: post #52
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…

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…

I never understood the fascination with Meg Whitman. The PayPal acquisition did not generate nearly as much value as it could and eBay is terrible, could have been what Amazon is today. I see Meg as greatly benefitting from a rising tide, not great leadership. Maybe her lieutenants have a different take but this is what I see from the outside.

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

#166

Post by bluedevil2k »

They went the wrong route with programming. Instead of top quality content with A/B list actors, they should have dumped out a lot of cheap reality show content. That stuff works well 10 minutes at a time on network TV (between commercials). Think Real World, Blind Date, Cribs. It’s cheap to make, appeals to the target market for Quibi, and would have required a LOT less funding at the beginning from the investors who now seem likely to lose all their money.

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

#167

Post by selimthegrim »

wolco wrote: post #146
brootstrap wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree seems like there is disproportionate dislike here for quibi. How many other billion dollar startups eat the shitter without this much hub-bub? However it is fair to hate on the founder jeffrey shrekzenburg. I know some folks who work at quibi and say this dude is insufferable. Probably not as insane, but stephen wolfram levels of dooshbaggery. Dictator type who thinks is shit is golden. Turns out he made a 1.5…

Doesn't 'Meg' no more wfh or daycare but will install a private daycare for herself Whittman co ceo this company?

Wasn’t that Marissa Mayer?

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

#168

Post by bsder »

mikeryan wrote: post #102
KallDrexx wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

If the content was good folks would watch it, Whether in quick bites or not. Even then, adjusting to the new reality and repackaging 10 minute episodes of a show into 30-60 minute episodes could likely be done in an editors suite in a few weeks.

> If the content was good folks would watch it, Whether in quick bites or not.

Agreed. "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" anyone?

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

#169

Post by deeviant »

I have serious doubts as the viability of Quibi, mainly from my experience with sci-fi short-story compilations.

Sure there have been some great short story compilations, but paradoxically, the better they are the worse they feel. As you just get invested in a great story/world only to have it end a short time later.

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

#170

Post by npunt »

hardwaregeek wrote: post #159
notahacker wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix pinning a lot on winning a bidding war for Fincher sound suspiciously like investors placing massively outsized bets on the Dreamworks/Disney guy with the startup savvy CEO being the Next Big Thing in digital media...

House of Cards was an adaptation of a widely acclaimed British TV show, directed by one of the best Hollywood directors, starring an A-list actor. Plus it probably didn't cost 1.8 billion.

Yep, entirely different risk profile. Netflix already had a brand, platform, and customers, and they already offered TV shows and weren't experimenting with a new format. The House of Cards risk was all in execution, not brand, concept, product, talent, etc.
Post reply on HN