Quibi, the streaming video startup that wanted to be known for revolutionizing short-form content, is now a short-lived casualty of the streaming wars.
The app, which debuted April 6, was the brainchild of Hollywood fixture Jeffrey Katzenberg and businesswoman Meg Whitman, promising programming of all kinds that clock in under 10 minutes per episode—“quick bites” (from which Quibi is derived) designed to appease viewers on the go.
However, Covid-19 assured that just about nobody was on the go, hamstringing the app’s early hopes. But the service also failed to catch on in other ways. Its marketing centered on the Quibi brand rather than its programming selection, and the service lacked buzzworthy hits. The app didn’t allow screengrabs or TV casting, limiting social sharing and family co-viewing that could have lent…