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(Variety)   Quibi is shutting down, leaving user disappointed   (variety.com) divider line
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1669 clicks; posted to Business » and Entertainment » on 21 Oct 2020 at 6:28 PM (18 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



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Dusk-You-n-Me [TotalFark]
2020-10-21 6:19:21 PM  
35 votes:
Quibi made their "episodes" 11 minutes to avoid paying union writers. Everyone should MC Hammer dance on their grave.

- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020

By playing credits between each act, instead of commercials, Quibi claimed a 10 episode season was actually 40 "low budget under 12 minute episodes", allowing them to skirt SAG (actors union) and WGA (writers union) minimums. They were a scab-based business model.

- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020


q**bi paid reese witherspoon $6 million to sit in a basement and voice over stock footage of animals with yas kween feminism. her husband is the head of talent acquisition at q**bi. just fully a scam from the top to the bottom

- anonymous account (@jackallisonLOL) October 21, 2020
 
Gubbo [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2020-10-21 5:59:51 PM  
33 votes:
Someone let Meg Whitman be involved with a company. Well I see the problem right there
 
macdaddy357
2020-10-21 6:31:32 PM  
21 votes:
Nobody needed another streaming service.
 
Bslim [TotalFark]
2020-10-21 6:31:49 PM  
12 votes:
When old people think they know what kids are into

variety.comView Full Size
 
likefunbutnot [OhFark]
2020-10-21 10:41:44 PM  
10 votes:

fusillade762: The problem was EPICALLY bad timing.


No. It failed on every level.
The gimmick that you could watch content in portrait or landscape was, frankly, stupid.
The content was supposed to be phone-exclusive; they didn't bother with viewers for set top boxes or smart TVs.
They paid farktons of money for short projects from superstar creators who did the bare minimum so they'd have a name to promote some passion-free project that fit their stupid technical gimmick.
They assumed a market would develop where non previously existed. People who want to watch short videos can already do that on platforms like Youtube, Vimeo and Twitch. Anyone who is that desperate for constant entertainment is well aware of those other services.

My guess is that two or three people - Katzenburg and Whitman, probably, made a few million each off connections they have with Creative/Tech investors and there's probably some mid-level people who will wind up with nice new Macs and Aeron chairs and that's just about all anyone will have to show for this stupid, stupid service.
 
12349876
2020-10-21 6:36:42 PM  
8 votes:

Dusk-You-n-Me: Quibi made their "episodes" 11 minutes to avoid paying union writers. Everyone should MC Hammer dance on their grave.
- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020

By playing credits between each act, instead of commercials, Quibi claimed a 10 episode season was actually 40 "low budget under 12 minute episodes", allowing them to skirt SAG (actors union) and WGA (writers union) minimums. They were a scab-based business model.
- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020


q**bi paid reese witherspoon $6 million to sit in a basement and voice over stock footage of animals with yas kween feminism. her husband is the head of talent acquisition at q**bi. just fully a scam from the top to the bottom
- anonymous account (@jackallisonLOL) October 21, 2020


Wait, lots of cartoons and most of Adult Swim are also 11 minutes.  Do they do this stuff too?
 
Vitamin_R [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2020-10-21 8:08:27 PM  
7 votes:
Ha ha Fark you Meg!
 
DesertCoyote [OhFark]
2020-10-21 7:43:10 PM  
7 votes:

Trocadero: 12349876: Dusk-You-n-Me: Quibi made their "episodes" 11 minutes to avoid paying union writers. Everyone should MC Hammer dance on their grave.
- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020

By playing credits between each act, instead of commercials, Quibi claimed a 10 episode season was actually 40 "low budget under 12 minute episodes", allowing them to skirt SAG (actors union) and WGA (writers union) minimums. They were a scab-based business model.
- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020


q**bi paid reese witherspoon $6 million to sit in a basement and voice over stock footage of animals with yas kween feminism. her husband is the head of talent acquisition at q**bi. just fully a scam from the top to the bottom
- anonymous account (@jackallisonLOL) October 21, 2020

Wait, lots of cartoons and most of Adult Swim are also 11 minutes.  Do they do this stuff too?

Rick and Morty is a non-union shop, but they give out the same as union benefits to keep the union at arm's length.


Better known as "The Costco Method."
 
americanflannel
2020-10-21 7:10:17 PM  
7 votes:

CarnySaur: Actually, Quibi doesn't own any of the big-budget premium content for which it has shelled out upwards of $100,000 per minute. The company has seven-year licenses on its short-form series; after two years, content owners have the right to assemble the shows and distribute them elsewhere.

I hope it's sooner than two years.  There was some content I was interested in seeing.


So we agree . Good content potential just abysmally bad delivery method?
 
Smelly Pirate Hooker
2020-10-21 6:41:31 PM  
7 votes:
Um ... OK. I mean, as far as I could tell, it never had much of a chance.
 
labman [TotalFark]
2020-10-22 12:23:44 AM  
5 votes:
4.99 per month to watch commercials during the content?  Who do they think they are, cable TV?
 
WoolyManwich [TotalFark]
2020-10-21 7:47:17 PM  
5 votes:
Quibi's business practices were shiat. Being forced to watch on your phone was a d*ck move. When viewed on a tv and episodes strung together with no credits in between (BitTorrent) the "shows" were actually pretty decent movies. It's a shame because there was some good content there. I really hope the Reno 911 revival can find another home.
 
Trocadero
2020-10-21 7:40:56 PM  
5 votes:

12349876: Dusk-You-n-Me: Quibi made their "episodes" 11 minutes to avoid paying union writers. Everyone should MC Hammer dance on their grave.
- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020

By playing credits between each act, instead of commercials, Quibi claimed a 10 episode season was actually 40 "low budget under 12 minute episodes", allowing them to skirt SAG (actors union) and WGA (writers union) minimums. They were a scab-based business model.
- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020


q**bi paid reese witherspoon $6 million to sit in a basement and voice over stock footage of animals with yas kween feminism. her husband is the head of talent acquisition at q**bi. just fully a scam from the top to the bottom
- anonymous account (@jackallisonLOL) October 21, 2020

Wait, lots of cartoons and most of Adult Swim are also 11 minutes.  Do they do this stuff too?


Rick and Morty is a non-union shop, but they give out the same as union benefits to keep the union at arm's length.
 
CarnySaur [recently expired TotalFark]
2020-10-21 7:04:30 PM  
5 votes:
Actually, Quibi doesn't own any of the big-budget premium content for which it has shelled out upwards of $100,000 per minute. The company has seven-year licenses on its short-form series; after two years, content owners have the right to assemble the shows and distribute them elsewhere.

I hope it's sooner than two years.  There was some content I was interested in seeing.
 
JJRRutgers
2020-10-22 5:17:31 AM  
4 votes:
It almost sounds like the same scam that was the plot of The Producers.


q**bi paid reese witherspoon $6 million to sit in a basement and voice over stock footage of animals with yas kween feminism. her husband is the head of talent acquisition at q**bi. just fully a scam from the top to the bottom

That's some pretty shady shenanigans right there.
 
likefunbutnot [OhFark]
2020-10-21 8:58:54 PM  
4 votes:

americanflannel: They literally just released an appletv app. Their trailers have me interested.


The only worthwhile content on Quibi are the new Reno 911 episodes and those are bundled as one easy to find torrent.

Honestly, had Reno 911 showed up on Hulu or CBS All Access or Peacock or anything that was less nakedly incompetent than Quibi, I would have at least signed up and watched it in a trial period. Quibi as a business, as a technology and as an expression of entertainment arts is something that I can only wish to die.

/I paid for SeeSo for however long there was SeeSo.
//Still torrented everything.
///Wanna watch Bajillion Dollar Properties or MBMBAM? I'm still seeding.
 
Rex_Everything
2020-10-21 8:37:52 PM  
4 votes:
It's like their whole business mode was "hope people don't realize they can just pause other media platforms".
 
LesserEvil [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2020-10-21 8:10:51 PM  
4 votes:

Bslim: When old people think they know what kids are into

[variety.com image 681x383]


Meg Whitman is a stain on humanity.

I left for a better paying job before I got swept into messes like DXC and Perspecta (isn't that an ED drug?) as she shuffled HP around (letting over 100,000 employees go) to boost the stock prices while offering no value to their customers.

The only good thing out of Quibi was the Reno 911 season. I hope they get picked up for at least one more, because I want to see them tackle Reno Nevada during the pandemic.
 
Dalybone
2020-10-21 7:30:14 PM  
4 votes:

Bslim: When old people think they know what kids are into

[variety.com image 681x383]


He looks like a creepy puppeteer with an even creepier puppet.
 
Fear the Clam [TotalFark]
2020-10-21 6:48:24 PM  
4 votes:
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
JerkStore
2020-10-22 7:09:42 AM  
3 votes:

Bslim: When old people think they know what kids are into

[variety.com image 681x383]


Christ, the foreheads!
 
YesWe'reThereYet
2020-10-22 1:26:00 AM  
3 votes:
Obvious tag says what?
 
Incontinent_dog_and_monkey_rodeo
2020-10-21 9:22:32 PM  
3 votes:
Who the hell looks at Meg Whitman and her trail of failure and says "That's my CEO!"
 
RogueWallEnthusiast [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2020-10-21 8:06:12 PM  
3 votes:

ZombieLambChop: So...... They invented youtube.com?


It's for people who can't hold their phone sideways.  And wish to pay for the privilege.
 
GoodHomer
2020-10-21 7:22:55 PM  
3 votes:
What's a Quibi?
 
flappy_penguin [TotalFark]
2020-10-22 4:11:31 PM  
2 votes:
After 12 years in the movie industry I've completely lost faith in motion pictures as an art form. You can't change my mind don't try. Pretty much anything thats been made since about 2012 is not art in any way shape or form. Even "art films" not arthouse either for fark sake not even. It may never have been art.

/Music is the weapon of the future
//The poppiest kpop has more art than cinema
///Gonna go paint
 
Geotpf
2020-10-22 10:31:22 AM  
2 votes:

americanflannel: They literally just released an appletv app. Their trailers have me interested.


The concept was stupid.  It was movies designed to be watched on a phone, and only on a phone. They were tiny in length, so you'd watch them while waiting in line for...whatever.  Until the very end, there was no way to watch them on an actual television.

Of course, then they start this service in the middle of the covid lockdown, when people were not waiting in physical lines for anything and were always near their giant farking television.

It was a bad idea in any case, but that their timing was absolutely horrible considering their business model.
 
EyeballKid
2020-10-22 8:07:39 AM  
2 votes:

Incontinent_dog_and_monkey_rodeo: Who the hell looks at Meg Whitman and her trail of failure and says "That's my CEO!"


The Biden campaign.
 
pheed
2020-10-21 10:08:20 PM  
2 votes:

americanflannel: They literally just released an appletv app. Their trailers have me interested.


Yeah, I had read they finally released an app for AndroidTV yesterday - and today, it's all over.
 
Fireproof [OhFark]
2020-10-21 9:45:12 PM  
2 votes:

americanflannel: CarnySaur: Actually, Quibi doesn't own any of the big-budget premium content for which it has shelled out upwards of $100,000 per minute. The company has seven-year licenses on its short-form series; after two years, content owners have the right to assemble the shows and distribute them elsewhere.

I hope it's sooner than two years.  There was some content I was interested in seeing.

So we agree . Good content potential just abysmally bad delivery method?


Agreed. Literally every ad for the service for about 3/4 of its existence was the format, and it failed to get me even the tiniest bit interested. They seemed to think that people would subscribe just because the episodes were short or someshiat.

Finally in like August they started advertising the content and I was actually a little bit interested, but by this point it was too late.

The pandemic sure as fark didn't help, but the company's leaders are of course acting like it was literally the only problem it had. Everyone would totally be watching if the country were 100% open instead of 70%.
 
MSkow
2020-10-21 7:37:30 PM  
2 votes:

Dalybone: Bslim: When old people think they know what kids are into

[variety.com image 681x383]

He looks like a creepy puppeteer with an even creepier puppet.


This was probably somewhat the case, metaphorically speaking.
 
PainInTheASP [recently expired TotalFark] [OhFark]
2020-10-21 6:12:36 PM  
2 votes:
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Palined Parenthood
2020-10-22 7:52:27 PM  
1 vote:
Holy fark. I had no idea they were this scummy, on top of having such a cringeworthy brand and marketing campaign. Good riddance.
 
Geotpf
2020-10-22 10:32:41 AM  
1 vote:

DesertCoyote: Trocadero: 12349876: Dusk-You-n-Me: Quibi made their "episodes" 11 minutes to avoid paying union writers. Everyone should MC Hammer dance on their grave.
- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020

By playing credits between each act, instead of commercials, Quibi claimed a 10 episode season was actually 40 "low budget under 12 minute episodes", allowing them to skirt SAG (actors union) and WGA (writers union) minimums. They were a scab-based business model.
- Jawn Wick (@LukeXCunningham) October 21, 2020


q**bi paid reese witherspoon $6 million to sit in a basement and voice over stock footage of animals with yas kween feminism. her husband is the head of talent acquisition at q**bi. just fully a scam from the top to the bottom
- anonymous account (@jackallisonLOL) October 21, 2020

Wait, lots of cartoons and most of Adult Swim are also 11 minutes.  Do they do this stuff too?

Rick and Morty is a non-union shop, but they give out the same as union benefits to keep the union at arm's length.

Better known as "The Costco Method."


Costco is unionized via the Teamsters.

https://www.local986.org/costco.php
 
Joe USer [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2020-10-22 9:23:32 AM  
1 vote:

Herr Morgenstern: Joe USer: I'm disappointed.

USer name checks out.


Many yrs ago I wanted to fix that typo, people said, "no Joe, it makes you unique. "

Gotta give the people what they want.
 
Fireproof [OhFark]
2020-10-21 9:10:45 PM  
1 vote:

Vitamin_R: Ha ha Fark you Meg!


Fark user imageView Full Size
 
mcreadyblue
2020-10-21 8:58:55 PM  
1 vote:

LesserEvil: Bslim: When old people think they know what kids are into

[variety.com image 681x383]

Meg Whitman is a stain on humanity.

I left for a better paying job before I got swept into messes like DXC and Perspecta (isn't that an ED drug?) as she shuffled HP around (letting over 100,000 employees go) to boost the stock prices while offering no value to their customers.

The only good thing out of Quibi was the Reno 911 season. I hope they get picked up for at least one more, because I want to see them tackle Reno Nevada during the pandemic.


Their shows sucked because they bought all of the shows that ABC/NBC/CBS/Netflix/Hulu/Amazon all passed on.
 
Herr Morgenstern [TotalFark]
2020-10-21 8:17:07 PM  
1 vote:

Joe USer: I'm disappointed.


USer name checks out.
 
ZombieLambChop [TotalFark]
2020-10-21 7:57:02 PM  
1 vote:
So...... They invented youtube.com?
 
Colour_out_of_Space
2020-10-21 7:18:31 PM  
1 vote:
There's better places for fake Mexican food.
 
Olympic Trolling Judge [TotalFark]
2020-10-21 6:35:35 PM  
1 vote:
Bury it with its golden arm.
 
Joe USer [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2020-10-21 5:51:18 PM  
1 vote:
I'm disappointed.
 
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