Quibi has shut down, but its video content will live on through Roku.
The Roku Channel will become the exclusive home to Quibi’s library of 75 shows and documentaries, thanks to a new deal the companies struck on Friday.
The Quibi content—which will run with ads—will be free to stream to all Roku users at some point this year. “In addition to the full range of titles that had previously premiered on Quibi, more than a dozen new programs will make their exclusive debut on The Roku Channel,” Roku says.
Roku will pay Quibi less than $100 million for the rights to the content, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the deal. However, the videos on Quibi are different from typical TV shows.
Quibi launched last year with the goal of creating five- to 10-minute episodes designed to be watched on smartphones instead of large-screen TVs. For example, the shows can be viewed both horizontally and vertically on a smartphone. But despite the hype, the new streaming service struggled to take flight during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing stay-at-home orders.
Nevertheless, Roku remains bullish on the content Quibi produced, which includes shows featuring stars such as Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, Liam Hemsworth, Anna Kendrick, Nicole Richie, and Chrissy Teigen. “We’re excited to make this content available for free to our users in The Roku Channel through an ad-supported model,” says Rob Holmes, vice president of programming at Roku.
The Roku Channel, which hosts 40,000 free movies and programs, comes bundled with a Roku streaming stick or a Roku TV. The channel is currently available to an estimated 61.8 million people in US households home to a Roku device, the company said. You can also watch the Roku Channel via a web browser for free, but expect to encounter ads.