Sources: Katzenberg pitched Apple, WarnerMedia, and Facebook about buying Quibi, but so far had no takers; Quibi has between 400K and 500K subscribers now
Katzenberg's buyer list is exhausted at the platform level — with Apple, WarnerMedia, and Facebook declining, Quibi's remaining leverage is its content catalog rather than its subscriber business.
The 400-500K subscriber figure quantifies the gap for any remaining suitor: at $4.99/month, the service's run-rate revenue is a rounding error against the capital already raised.
Second-order effects
The pass list widens within weeks — NBCUniversal and Facebook also decline to buy the catalog, and Katzenberg signals to associates he may shut the company down, shifting the outcome from distressed sale to liquidation.
Quibi's internal fallback — a freemium tier — arrives too late to change the buyer math, since ad-supported reach would require the very audience growth that failed.
Third-order effects
The episode sets a precedent that well-funded, mobile-only subscription launches are judged on subscriber trajectory within months, not years — making 'premium short-form' a category incumbents absorb as formats rather than acquire as businesses.
For Hollywood-backed startups, the pattern points toward content libraries being the only recoverable asset, with distribution platforms (the Apples and Facebooks of the market) holding the negotiating power when a subscriber-first service stalls.
The trend: Premium mobile-only subscription video is collapsing into a content-licensing story, as incumbent platforms pass on acquiring subscriber businesses that miss their growth targets.
It's very sad that no one in the UK knows what Quibi is. Because I would love to spend my time writing about the slow-motion downfall of Quibi. https://twitter.com/...
@mccrackenagain
@mccrackenagain on x
Quibi failure news is the only thing providing serotonin lately https://twitter.com/...
@trengriffin
Tren Griffin on x
CAC and churn are stone cold killers of value. Distribution and retention are vastly harder than most people imagine. Quibi has between 400,000 to 500,000 paying subscribers (including those who have it free through T-Mobile). https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
@azeem
Azeem Azhar on x
This one was CA Technologies and KMart written all over it https://twitter.com/...
@edzitron
Ed Zitron on x
Imagine the pitch. “So it's shows that are not good, that are also short, also you can't watch them on a tv. What do you think. We're thinking 2 billion dollars” https://twitter.com/...
@jessesachs
Jesse Sachs on x
For Sale: Baby shows, never watched https://twitter.com/...
@velvetxero
Wyatt on x
turns out having nothing of value for content means your service is worth... nothing of value who would've thought https://twitter.com/...
@db
@db on x
People either want to consume a lot of small videos (TikTok) or 30 min - 1 hr shows, either one weekly or binge all. The only exception is with cartoons at 12 mins an episode. Quibi would do better if they focused on high quality animation. https://twitter.com/...
@bdsams
Brad Sams on x
We should start a SPAC to buy Quibi...I can contribute about a dozen Windows Phones to get us started. https://twitter.com/...
@browntable_ent
Browntable on x
I will buy Quibi for $100 no joke https://twitter.com/...
@kushaanshah
Kushaan Shah on x
BREAKING NEWS: Good companies refuse to buy struggling product https://twitter.com/...
@discussingfilm
@discussingfilm on x
No one wants to buy Quibi. Apple, Facebook and WarnerMedia have refused to buy Quibi. We submit our bid of $9.99 to purchase Quibi. (Source: https://www.theinformation.com/ ...) https://twitter.com/...
@kantrowitz
Alex Kantrowitz on x
The FTC should force big tech to acquire Quibi to even the playing field https://twitter.com/...
@andrewgjohnson
@andrewgjohnson on x
.@Quibi doesn't create seasons of 8 minute episodes. They create movies with predefined pause/bathroom breaks every 8 minutes or so. When was the last time you watched a full movie at home without hitting pause? https://twitter.com/...
@cityofthetown
Tom Dotan on x
Quibi sale update: no dice. Katzenberg approached Apple, Warnermedia and Facebook. All passed quickly. It still has around $800million in the bank, so it's not dire. But with fewer than 500,000 paying subs, where do you go? w/ @jtoonkel https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
Katzenberg has been telling people that the press has it wrong, and he's simply exploring options/looking at partnerships. But that's not true. He is trying to sell. https://twitter.com/...
@readdanwrite
Daniel Roberts on x
Apple, WarnerMedia, and Facebook have passed on buying Quibi, @theinformation reports. shocker. but: someone with dumb money to blow will buy it. https://www.theinformation.com/ ...