Quibi Tops 1 Million Downloads in First Week, in Debut Muted by Coronavirus

Quibi, the mobile-only streaming service from Jeffrey Katzenberg, surpassed 1 million installations within the first week of launch. According to analysts, the big-budget, short-form video streamer has had a relatively tepid reception in part because of the coronavirus pandemic.

As of Sunday, April 12, the Quibi app had been downloaded and installed 1.15 million times, according to research firm Apptopia. The service launched with a 90-day free trial.

Downloads have been fairly evenly split between iOS and Android devices, with about 87% of the installs from the U.S. and 6% from Canada, according to Apptopia data. Quibi’s app is available worldwide but the startup, led by Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman, is focusing its marketing and customer-acquisition efforts on North America.

Quibi’s debut comes at an inopportune time: The service is designed to be watched only on mobile devices, in episodic chunks of less than 10 minutes while people are out and about. The COVID-19 crisis has left millions stuck indoors, and Quibi has frustrated some because it can’t be streamed to a connected TV set.

“Quibi was likely hoping for a better launch…. the coronavirus has definitely had an impact,” Adam Blacker, VP of insights and global alliances for Apptopia, wrote in a blog post. “It’s clear from using the app that it’s best used while commuting to work, which is not happening for many people right now.”

On launch day, Quibi generated far less chatter on social media than Disney Plus or Apple TV Plus did when they debuted. And Quibi’s one-week total of 1.15 million app downloads compares with 12.5 million for Disney Plus over its first seven-day period in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands.

To be fair, Quibi is very different from Disney Plus, which has surged to 50 million paying customers in five months largely on the back of its well-known catalog of movie titles, including Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel and Disney films. Quibi by contrast “made the bold move to launch with original content only,” Blacker noted. Whether the originals-only strategy pans out for Quibi remains to be seen, but the company is breaking with historical precedent as virtually every subscription-video service to date first launched with licensed programming.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Quibi released seven new shows and “chapterized” movies, with three episodes of each available.

Those include Antoine Fuqua’s “#FreeRayshawn” starring Laurence Fishburne and Stephan James; “50 States of Fright” from Sam Raimi starring Rachel Brosnahan and Travis Fimmel; “The Stranger” from Veena Sud; and comedy “Agua Donkeys” from Funny or Die. New unscripted series include: “Elba vs. Block” starring Idris Elba and stunt driver Ken Block; “Fight Like a Girl” starring the WWE Superstars; and “Let’s Roll” with Tony Greenhand.

Quibi’s launch lineup of 50 shows included “Judge Judy”-style show “Chrissy’s Court” starring Chrissy Teigen; drama “Survive” starring Sophie Turner and Corey Hawkins; thriller “Most Dangerous Game” starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz; a reboot of “Punk’d” hosted by Chance the Rapper; and money-giveaway reality show “Thanks a Million” from Jennifer Lopez.

Pictured above: Quibi’s “Elba vs. Block”