Jeffrey Katzenberg attributes "everything" about Quibi's woes to coronavirus

The New York Times

A month after Quibi launched with a 90-day free trial, the shortform streaming service says its app has been downloaded 3.5 million times with 1.3 million active users. “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus,” the Quibi founder said in a video interview with The New York Times. “Everything. But we own it.” Katzenberg expressed disappointment with the numbers. "Is it the avalanche of people that we wanted and were going for out of launch?” he said. “The answer is no. It’s not up to what we wanted. It’s not close to what we wanted.” In response to the lack of enthusiasm, Quibi is backpedaling on making the streaming service only available on mobile phones. This week, viewers will be able to start streaming Quibi content to their TV sets. Quibi will also be less walled off, Katzenberg promises, in response to complaints that it's not social media-friendly, and therefore hard to spread via word of mouth. “If we knew on March 1, which is when we had to make the call, what we know today, you would say that is not a good idea,” he said. “The answer is, it’s regrettable. But we are making enough gold out of hay here that I don’t regret it.”