The $1.75 Billion App You Couldn't Watch on a TV

Quibi raised $1.75 billion from almost every studio in Hollywood, planned more than 175 shows for an app you could only watch on your phone, and launched in the first weeks of the pandemic lockdowns. Six months later it was gone. This is how Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman built it, the bet they made in March 2020, and where the money went. Chapters 0:00 $1.75 billion, six months 1:05 The Golden Retriever 4:12 Quick Bites 7:55 $100,000 a minute 10:34 Turnstyle 13:57 Everything 17:31 Nobody bought it 19:49 Fade to black 23:07 Afterwards Legal note: Eko's claims about the Turnstyle technology are allegations from its lawsuit. Quibi said the feature was its own, the court did not decide the merits, and the case was settled in September 2021 with the technology going to Eko. Reported anecdotes are attributed to the outlets that reported them. Subscriber figures differ by source; the video gives each one with its source.