It’s been just over six months since the Seven Minute at a Time Streaming Service™ Quibi came to devices near you. Which means two things: 1. It’s been around for less time than this dang pandemic (yet longer than HBO Max and Peacock TV, huh it’s almost like everyone has needed something to keep their minds off the world). And 2. If you got the free three month trial, it’s long expired.
Well we found two of the only people on planet Earth that have actually watched a Quibi show, and asked what they think. Want proof?
Take a Quibi with us.
Cole: Man, first that marketing campaign making a Quibi a unit of time was dumb. And I know I’m above-average plugged into the media world, but how can people not know what Quibi is, they marketed the heck out of it. And they had to because there was ZERO content at launch, no reboots of familiar property, and very few big names signed on. This had its work cut out for it.
Tristan: Thank you. Poorly marketed, misadvertised, launched too early. Same issues there. When I heard short-form, I expected quick, digestible, fun ideas and proofs of concept. Maybe it’s just having watched a fair share of good content lately, but this could have been a great opportunity.
Who’s to blame?
Tristan: One of my favorite things from the LA Times article was its headline: “Jeffrey Katzenberg Blames Pandemic for Quibi’s Rough Start.” I mean…there’s a lot of blame being tossed around the pandemic, but is that all to blame? It continues, “Downloads of the $1.8 billion short-form streaming app, meant for phones, are paltry.” Paltry. That’s intelligentsia for “it’s not doing great.” Then the owner just says it, “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus,” Mr. Katzenberg said. “Everything.” Hold up. Everything. Everything.
If New Coke launched in April 2020, Coca Cola would blame it on COVID. I dunno, seems like a single villain when it’s honestly just a platform plagued by mediocrity and gimmicks. That isn’t to say everything on there is bad, because it’s not. It’s just not good enough to justify the format and paying for yet another streaming service.
Cole: Maybe it’s just me, I just expect more out of another streaming service.
Tristan: I can get that. I feel like I kept seeing ads with big enough name actors that I was excited. From the ads, I didn’t love or hate the idea of short episodes, I was more concerned with how they’d pull it off. The feeling I was getting was this is big actors getting to do smaller projects that they’re passionate about. It wasn’t that in actuality.
Content or contentment?
Cole: What did you end up watching with your free trial?
Tristan: I saw Dee from It’s Always Sunny and figured I could trust Kaitlin Olson and Will Forte to deliver. Honestly, Flipped was fun. I liked it. Creative story and storyline, good jokes and twists, and enough action and comedy to keep me watching for all 7-10 minutes. By the end of the series, I felt that a fine story had been told. It got me through my lunch breaks for a few days.
The episode length? A little disappointing.
Now I really enjoyed The Most Dangerous Game with Christoph Waltz and Liam Hemsworth. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy, as was the show, for short form comedy or drama series. And get this: once Quibi shuts down, The Most Dangerous Game is being shopped elsewhere!
That said, it could have been one continuous 105 minute film. That was the running time. Instead, it was 15 episodes. People rag on Hulu for their 3-5 ad breaks, but imagine 15 commercial breaks to get through the movie. For perspective, imagine other 105-min movies like Psycho, Edward Scissorhands, or Dazed and Confused…with 15 commercial breaks. It was frustrating. We’re leaving the allure of the streaming world and slowly sliding back to basic cable days.
Missed Opportunities
Cole: For everything it was…what should it be? Do we need another streaming service to subscribe to for two shows worth our time?
Tristan: It’s not YouTube. Right? But could it just be like…higher quality short films, proofs of concept, and mini-passion projects? That’s the direction I wish it’d go in. One of the bright lights this quarantine has been Kevin James’ YouTube channel. He’s doing exactly what I’d wanted Quibi to do. Creative ideas, something fun, and higher production value. If you’re an A-lister, that sounds like a great outlet that would let people enjoy your take on things. And in the name of inclusion, new faces, and cutting your chops, imagine if an Olivia Wilde or Jordan Peels had a Quibi-like platform 10 years ago that could have done up a series of shorts as a concept for Booksmart or Get Out.
Damien Chazelle filmed a proof of concept before Whiplash was bought, but what if audiences could have seen that first? This could be the proving grounds for exactly what the money in Hollywood wants: established and secured brands and ideas to push to market. Existing IP is king right now for those with deep pockets. Then there’s the other side. Film school grads, Spielberg idolizers, the found footage purists, they would have a place to submit their work. It’d be like a film festival, minus the travel, cramped viewing rooms, and Q&A questions that make cast and crew cringe. Once again, new ideas, let the people watch and discover what they want, and you’d create a community not unlike HitRecord or film festival circuits. Then again…we still have YouTube.
Is there a place for Quibi?
Cole: Guess not right now. I cancelled my subscription and haven’t looked back. It’s not exciting enough to justify.
Tristan: I cancelled before the trial ended. It’s not the content I want to spend time watching. If there was a short film or proof-of-concept streaming service, I’d be there in a heartbeat. 15 Commercial breaks for 1 hour of content? Not in this economy.
