Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world.
There are so many streaming services out there, from Netflix to Hulu to Disney+ to Amazon Prime.
And now, there’s Quibi, which launched on Monday, April 6, right in the middle of a time when the country is looking for new content to consume as isolation and social distancing continue during the coronavirus pandemic.
So what is Quibi and why might you want to spend money to subscribe? Let’s break it all down for you, from the service to the content to the price.
What is Quibi?
It’s a video platform, but with a catch: it’s made specifically for mobile devices and series episodes are only 10 minutes each. You can watch everything both horizontally or vertically.
What’s being offered on there?
There’s I Promise, the documentary about LeBron James’ school in Akron.
Thanks a Million is Jennifer Lopez’s show that follows famous people giving away $100,000 to people in need.
There’s a cooking competition hosted by Tituss Burgess called Dishmantled, a Will Arnett look back at history with Memory Hole and Flipped, which stars Will Forte and Kaitlin Olson, which looks funny:
Survive stars Sophie Turner of Game of Thrones fame.
There’s a lot more than that whether it’s scripted or unscripted, and per the New York Times, there will also be “quick-hit news and sports reports from NBC, BBC, ESPN and others.”
Wait, I’ve seen some of these listed as “Movies” in certain places.
Yes, but they’re split into chapters. Again, the pitch here is short content you can consume. The idea here pre-isolation was that you could watch an episode or chapter or a few while on the go or waiting in line somewhere.
How much does it cost?
First, the good news: Quibi is free for 90 days, which is a good call since there will be plenty of time to try it out right now.
After that, there are two prices you can pay: it’s $4.99 per month with ads, and $7.99 a month in the ad-free model.
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