Roku has acquired global rights for Quibi content, sources say for less than $100M, and will make it available free to stream in 2021 on the Roku Channel
Maker of the biggest U.S. streaming video-player plans to put the content in its ad-supported channel
Wall Street Journal
Context & Ripple Effects
Quibi entered the market with more than $100M in commitments from launch advertisers, but its short lifespan also included $63M in promotional spending. Roku is taking control of that stranded programming rather than trying to revive Quibi as a standalone service.
The purchase gives Roku material for an original-programming push that later launched on the Roku Channel. It matters because Roku is pairing acquired library rights with free, ad-supported distribution on a channel it controls.
First-order effects
Roku gains global rights to Quibi’s catalog for less than $100M and can add it to the Roku Channel’s free viewing offering in 2021.
Quibi’s programming moves from its defunct standalone destination to Roku’s ad-supported channel, giving Roku a new source of exclusive content.
Second-order effects
Roku can use the acquired shows to create additional ad inventory around a catalog originally backed by major launch advertisers, including those in Quibi’s more than $100M ad-sales commitments.
Other free streaming channels face a clearer incentive to seek undervalued library rights that can differentiate their catalogs without commissioning new programming.
Third-order effects
If similar rights deals continue, failed streaming services’ libraries may become a supply channel for platform-owned free channels, shifting value from standalone apps toward distributors with ad sales and audience reach.
The later report that Roku Originals quickly exceeded Quibi’s lifetime audience indicates that distribution and monetization infrastructure can matter as much as the original programming brand.
The trend: Streaming platforms are turning distressed or underused content rights into exclusive programming for free, ad-supported channels they own and monetize.
Roku agreed to acquire the rights to content from Quibi. Deal comes with complications and restrictions including in how the content is presented. Details coming in full story. W/@BenMullin https://www.wsj.com/...
“Unsurprisingly, neither Roku nor Quibi announced the terms of this acquisition deal, but Deadline cites trusted insiders who peg the deal at a value of “less than $100M,” or at best, 5.7% of Quibi's original $1.75B valuation.” https://arstechnica.com/... $1 is one number < $100M…
The Roku deal may not go well with some of the shows' producers. “We agreed to make a show to run on the Quibi platform, not Roku,” said one producer of shows for Quibi. https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Starting with set top boxes, then sticks, then TV integration, and now content, @Roku has quietly been building itself into a juggernaut. #1 in North America. 50 million accounts. Wireless soundbars next. https://blog.roku.com/...; https://newsroom.roku.com/...
Owning the direct relationship with the customers and the data produced by those relationships is powerful. That was the core of the dispute between Roku and AT&T over HBO Max. https://www.theverge.com/...