If you thought the short-lived streaming platform Quibi would be lost forever after 2020, you’d be wrong. Though the app and the entirety of its “quick bite” content disappeared in December after launching only earlier that year, Roku has acquired the programming library from the now-defunct platform. As The Roku Channel looks to expand its ad-supported content library, the 75-plus short-form series will serve as a hearty addition.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Quibi fans (?) can expect to see most of the original content revived on The Roku Channel. Missed the chance to see Rachel Brosnahan sporting a bizarre golden arm in The Golden Arm? A second chance is on the way. Along with Quibi’s pre-broadcasted slate of entertainment, a handful of shows that were completed but never released will be made available for the first time for Roku users.
“We are thrilled that these stories, from the surreal to the sublime, have found a new home on The Roku Channel,” Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Quibi launched in April 2020, an artifact of the pandemic’s grim beginnings. Though the quick videos were meant for subway rides or other bursts of free time in day-to-day life, the experiment failed with most Americans sheltering at home. Just six months after Quibi was welcomed into the world, Katzenberg and Quibi CEO Meg Whitman were composing farewells. In October, the app was announced to be shuttering, and in December, the quick bites vanished indefinitely. Star-studded series like Chrissy Teigen’s Chrissy’s Court, the Liam Hemsworth-led Most Dangerous Game, and more were lost—until Roku saved them.
Roku will distribute Quibi’s content to the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. The three-year-old Roku Channel reaches nearly 62 million people, according to the platform. That’s a sharp increase from Quibi’s count, which never reached more than 6 million subscribers. Roku has yet to disclose how it will present Quibi’s content to viewers, which will be offered for free for the first time ever.
Reportedly, Katzenberg requested his Quibi employees to play “Get Back Up Again,” a Trolls tune by Anna Kendrick, as he informed them of their unemployment. Seems Quibi has taken the song to heart with this Roku deal. It’s been a long month without any Quibi drama, but the quick bite comeback is upon us.
Fletcher Peters is a New York-based journalist whose writing has appeared in Decider, Jezebel, and Film School Rejects, among other spots. You can follow her on Twitter @fietcherpeters gossiping about rom-coms, TV, and the latest celebrity drama.
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