新冠病毒蔓延，這家公司卻逆勢啟動，加入短視頻行業(yè)競爭
Aric Jenkins
2020-04-09
經(jīng)過了20個月的準備，新型短視頻服務Quibi終于上線。之前該公司從數(shù)家大型娛樂公司籌集了近20億美元的資金，還請來數(shù)十位頂級明星代言。Quibi服務費為4.99美元（含廣告）和7.99美元每月（不含），90天內免費試用。
由于備受期待，Quibi的實用性也引發(fā)了激烈爭論。該公司是好萊塢和硅谷的合作結晶，由首席執(zhí)行官梅格·惠特曼（曾擔任易趣和惠普首席執(zhí)行官）和董事長杰弗瑞·卡森伯格（夢工廠聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人）共同領導。1月，惠特曼曾表示，Quibi最具吸引力之處在于碎片時間娛樂，例如“診所排隊，通勤上班，在學校等孩子等場景”。
據(jù)Quib高管預計，由于該產品格外重視移動端，所以跟其他服務不同，很有可能開辟全新的娛樂產品類別。他們沒想到的是：服務啟動恰逢全球新冠病毒大流行，預約掛號、通勤和上學等日常生活全被打亂。
“我們處于混亂又痛苦的時刻，這是大多數(shù)人此生從未有過的經(jīng)歷，在全國范圍內前所未有，”卡森伯格接受《財富》雜志采訪時說。
在好萊塢，以往人流密集的電影行業(yè)已幾近停滯，就連Quibi上線也受到影響。因擔心疫情傳播，原定于洛杉磯舉行的盛大發(fā)布會已宣布取消。會上原計劃宣傳Quibi中的50多部原創(chuàng)作品，包括電影、真人秀、紀錄片和所謂的日常節(jié)目：新聞和脫口秀。部分作品有明星參演，或由好萊塢大牌參與制作；合作者包括史蒂芬·斯皮爾伯格、克莉絲汀·泰根、里斯·威瑟斯彭、勒布朗·詹姆斯和扎克·埃夫隆等。
疫情期間，人們觀看在線視頻的頻率比以往更高了，且宅家看視頻還能躲避病毒的傳播。居家隔離禁令使好萊塢很難再推新作，但對好萊塢商品的需求卻出現(xiàn)激增。
拍攝停止前，Quibi已完成了一些戲劇和紀錄片的制作。其中包括《權力的游戲》演員索菲·特納主演的災難劇《生還》。但隨著新冠病毒爆發(fā)，平臺日常節(jié)目的創(chuàng)作者，還有Quibi的250多名員工都只能在家辦公。
“我們必須重新考慮制作流程，”Quibi每日節(jié)目The Nod主持人埃里克·埃丁斯說，該節(jié)目主要關注黑人文化。他和另一位主持人布列塔尼·盧斯只能從曼哈頓的攝影棚專場到布魯克林和洛杉磯的公寓。“原本人們聚集在特定環(huán)境下工作，現(xiàn)在只能分散在不同地點，真是太難辦了，”盧斯說。“技術上挑戰(zhàn)很大。”
卡森伯格認為，Quibi的日常節(jié)目都能照常進行，只有一個現(xiàn)場喜劇節(jié)目因俱樂部和娛樂場所關閉而無法錄制。Quibi高管考慮推遲節(jié)目，但惠特曼和卡森伯格最終決定如期推出，將免費試用期從兩周延長到90天。
“真正關鍵在于，‘好吧，既然遇上疫情就應該多免費一陣，’”卡森伯格說，他指的是免費試用期。“我們認為90天免費試用是傳達善意，讓人們真正體驗Quibi，愛上這項服務。如果人們能因此愛上Quibi，我們就贏了。”
一個令人擔心的問題是：90天之后世界會變成什么樣？雖然Quibi試用期很長，但當其結束轉為付費時，全球經(jīng)濟很可能陷入衰退或者更糟。過去兩周，因各類企業(yè)丟失大量訂單，超1000萬美國人申請失業(yè)救濟。
此外，研究直達消費者視頻的戰(zhàn)略咨詢公司43Twenty創(chuàng)始人科比·格林尼絲表示，Quibi視頻庫相當有限，延長試用期可能造成負擔。
“人們可能確實愛看，而且沒準看很多。現(xiàn)在很多人都在找東西看打發(fā)時間，”格林尼絲說。“人們會訂閱服務，還是會看完所有內容？服務發(fā)布時有50部作品，都是7分鐘的短片，其實并不多。Quibi承諾提供內容上新計劃，但目前內容制作已然停滯。”
上周卡森伯格告訴《綜藝》雜志，Quibi的拍攝內容持續(xù)到今年萬圣節(jié)沒問題。他表示，雖然公司預計可能出現(xiàn)另一種災難，即美國編劇協(xié)會罷工，但還是將其第一年發(fā)布計劃從8500集增加到了9600集。
當主持人問到，遭逢流感大流行該如何定義或衡量Quibi是否成功時，卡森伯格告訴《財富》雜志：“目前身處未知領域。”
“我們認為，對Quibi來說最重要的事還有業(yè)務的核心基礎，只有付費用戶，沒別的，”他說。“未來幾個月都沒法有付費用戶，不過4周前梅格跟我決定試一試。”
對于Quibi針對手機推出的內容能否吸引使用Netflix、Disney+、Hulu、亞馬遜等服務的家庭用戶？惠特曼和卡森伯格都堅稱，盛行的流媒體服務并不是Quibi的對手，YouTube和抖音國際版TikTok等短視頻服務才是其真正的競爭者。然而事實上，各類視頻服務都在爭奪隔離期間用戶的屏幕使用時間。
“在難度方面，Quibi的目標介于帽子戲法和登月之間，”高德納公司電視和數(shù)字視頻分析師埃里克·施密特表示。“現(xiàn)在人們能輕而易舉地接觸熒幕，要爭奪屏幕時間并不容易。”
幾個月來，卡森伯格一直面著對人們對Quibi的質疑，但他從未擔心：“只能說，從業(yè)45年來我從沒見過真正特別優(yōu)質的產品會失敗。”（財富中文網(wǎng)）
譯者：夏林
經(jīng)過了20個月的準備，新型短視頻服務Quibi終于上線。之前該公司從數(shù)家大型娛樂公司籌集了近20億美元的資金，還請來數(shù)十位頂級明星代言。Quibi服務費為4.99美元（含廣告）和7.99美元每月（不含），90天內免費試用。
由于備受期待，Quibi的實用性也引發(fā)了激烈爭論。該公司是好萊塢和硅谷的合作結晶，由首席執(zhí)行官梅格·惠特曼（曾擔任易趣和惠普首席執(zhí)行官）和董事長杰弗瑞·卡森伯格（夢工廠聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人）共同領導。1月，惠特曼曾表示，Quibi最具吸引力之處在于碎片時間娛樂，例如“診所排隊，通勤上班，在學校等孩子等場景”。
據(jù)Quib高管預計，由于該產品格外重視移動端，所以跟其他服務不同，很有可能開辟全新的娛樂產品類別。他們沒想到的是：服務啟動恰逢全球新冠病毒大流行，預約掛號、通勤和上學等日常生活全被打亂。
“我們處于混亂又痛苦的時刻，這是大多數(shù)人此生從未有過的經(jīng)歷，在全國范圍內前所未有，”卡森伯格接受《財富》雜志采訪時說。
在好萊塢，以往人流密集的電影行業(yè)已幾近停滯，就連Quibi上線也受到影響。因擔心疫情傳播，原定于洛杉磯舉行的盛大發(fā)布會已宣布取消。會上原計劃宣傳Quibi中的50多部原創(chuàng)作品，包括電影、真人秀、紀錄片和所謂的日常節(jié)目：新聞和脫口秀。部分作品有明星參演，或由好萊塢大牌參與制作；合作者包括史蒂芬·斯皮爾伯格、克莉絲汀·泰根、里斯·威瑟斯彭、勒布朗·詹姆斯和扎克·埃夫隆等。
疫情期間，人們觀看在線視頻的頻率比以往更高了，且宅家看視頻還能躲避病毒的傳播。居家隔離禁令使好萊塢很難再推新作，但對好萊塢商品的需求卻出現(xiàn)激增。
拍攝停止前，Quibi已完成了一些戲劇和紀錄片的制作。其中包括《權力的游戲》演員索菲·特納主演的災難劇《生還》。但隨著新冠病毒爆發(fā)，平臺日常節(jié)目的創(chuàng)作者，還有Quibi的250多名員工都只能在家辦公。
“我們必須重新考慮制作流程，”Quibi每日節(jié)目The Nod主持人埃里克·埃丁斯說，該節(jié)目主要關注黑人文化。他和另一位主持人布列塔尼·盧斯只能從曼哈頓的攝影棚專場到布魯克林和洛杉磯的公寓。“原本人們聚集在特定環(huán)境下工作，現(xiàn)在只能分散在不同地點，真是太難辦了，”盧斯說。“技術上挑戰(zhàn)很大。”
卡森伯格認為，Quibi的日常節(jié)目都能照常進行，只有一個現(xiàn)場喜劇節(jié)目因俱樂部和娛樂場所關閉而無法錄制。Quibi高管考慮推遲節(jié)目，但惠特曼和卡森伯格最終決定如期推出，將免費試用期從兩周延長到90天。
“真正關鍵在于，‘好吧，既然遇上疫情就應該多免費一陣，’”卡森伯格說，他指的是免費試用期。“我們認為90天免費試用是傳達善意，讓人們真正體驗Quibi，愛上這項服務。如果人們能因此愛上Quibi，我們就贏了。”
一個令人擔心的問題是：90天之后世界會變成什么樣？雖然Quibi試用期很長，但當其結束轉為付費時，全球經(jīng)濟很可能陷入衰退或者更糟。過去兩周，因各類企業(yè)丟失大量訂單，超1000萬美國人申請失業(yè)救濟。
此外，研究直達消費者視頻的戰(zhàn)略咨詢公司43Twenty創(chuàng)始人科比·格林尼絲表示，Quibi視頻庫相當有限，延長試用期可能造成負擔。
“人們可能確實愛看，而且沒準看很多。現(xiàn)在很多人都在找東西看打發(fā)時間，”格林尼絲說。“人們會訂閱服務，還是會看完所有內容？服務發(fā)布時有50部作品，都是7分鐘的短片，其實并不多。Quibi承諾提供內容上新計劃，但目前內容制作已然停滯。”
上周卡森伯格告訴《綜藝》雜志，Quibi的拍攝內容持續(xù)到今年萬圣節(jié)沒問題。他表示，雖然公司預計可能出現(xiàn)另一種災難，即美國編劇協(xié)會罷工，但還是將其第一年發(fā)布計劃從8500集增加到了9600集。
當主持人問到，遭逢流感大流行該如何定義或衡量Quibi是否成功時，卡森伯格告訴《財富》雜志：“目前身處未知領域。”
“我們認為，對Quibi來說最重要的事還有業(yè)務的核心基礎，只有付費用戶，沒別的，”他說。“未來幾個月都沒法有付費用戶，不過4周前梅格跟我決定試一試。”
對于Quibi針對手機推出的內容能否吸引使用Netflix、Disney+、Hulu、亞馬遜等服務的家庭用戶？惠特曼和卡森伯格都堅稱，盛行的流媒體服務并不是Quibi的對手，YouTube和抖音國際版TikTok等短視頻服務才是其真正的競爭者。然而事實上，各類視頻服務都在爭奪隔離期間用戶的屏幕使用時間。
“在難度方面，Quibi的目標介于帽子戲法和登月之間，”高德納公司電視和數(shù)字視頻分析師埃里克·施密特表示。“現(xiàn)在人們能輕而易舉地接觸熒幕，要爭奪屏幕時間并不容易。”
幾個月來，卡森伯格一直面著對人們對Quibi的質疑，但他從未擔心：“只能說，從業(yè)45年來我從沒見過真正特別優(yōu)質的產品會失敗。”（財富中文網(wǎng)）
譯者：夏林
After 20 months of build up, nearly $2 billion in raised funds from some of the world’s largest entertainment companies, and dozens of A-list celebrity endorsements, Quibi—the new short-form video streaming service designed for on-the-go use—finally launched this morning, offering plans priced at $4.99 (with ads) and $7.99 per month (without) after a free 90-day trial.
Quibi’s arrival has been hotly anticipated and its utility intensely debated. The venture’s pedigree draws equally from Hollywood and Silicon Valley—it’s led by CEO (and former eBay and Hewlett-Packard chief executive) Meg Whitman and chairman (and DreamWorks cofounder) Jeffrey Katzenberg—and its attraction relies heavily on the free minutes people find at the “doctor’s office, commuting to work, waiting for the kids at school,” as Whitman said in January.
Quibi’s executives expected that a mobile-first approach would at least differentiate the service and at most establish a new entertainment category. What they didn’t expect: that it would launch in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic that has virtually eliminated routine medical appointments, work commutes, and school.
“We are in a moment of time in which we have more dislocation, disruption, distress than most of us have ever experienced in our lifetimes, certainly unprecedented in scale across the entire country,” Katzenberg tells Fortune.
In Hollywood, the pandemic has brought an industry known for its elbow-rubbing to a near standstill. For Quibi, COVID-19 concerns led it to cancel a glitzy Los Angeles launch party scheduled for yesterday. The red-carpet event—naturally—would have touted Quibi’s 50-plus original launch titles, which include movies (broken up into four- to 10-minute chapters), reality TV, documentaries, and so-called Daily Essentials: news programs and talk shows. Some of these offerings star or were created by big-name Hollywood talent; Quibi’s collaborators include Steven Spielberg, Chrissy Teigen, Reese Witherspoon, LeBron James, and Zac Efron, among others.
The curious silver lining to a world turned upside down, though, is that people are streaming video more than ever as they shelter in place to avoid spreading the virus. Demand for Hollywood’s wares has spiked even as stay-at-home orders have made it nearly impossible for the industry to create more.
For Quibi, production on some of its dramatic and documentary offerings had already been completed before sets shut down. (Among them: the disaster drama Survive, starring Game of Thrones actor Sophie Turner.) But the coronavirus outbreak has forced creators producing the platform’s daily offerings, not to mention Quibi’s more than 250 employees, to work from home.
“We had to rethink production from the ground up,” says Eric Eddings, cohost of The Nod, a daily Quibi show focused on black culture. He and cohost Brittany Luse had to pivot from a set in a Manhattan studio to their apartments in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, respectively. “It was a mad dash to figure out how to take this thing in one specific context and break it up with all these people in different locations,” Luse adds. “There were technological challenges.”
Katzenberg says Quibi was able to proceed with all but one of its Daily Essentials, a live comedy show that couldn’t be recorded given shutdown orders for clubs and other live entertainment venues. Quibi’s executives considered postponing the service’s launch; Whitman and Katzenberg ultimately decided to stay the course but extend its free trial from two weeks to 90 days.
“The real pivot in all of this was to say, ‘Okay, but we should make it free,’” Katzenberg says, referring to the trial period. “We look at the 90 days as building goodwill, having people really learn what Quibi is, and having them fall in love with it. And if they do, we will win.”
An open question is what the world will look like in 90 days’ time. Quibi’s lengthy trial risks asking customers for payment as the global economy dips into a recession—or worse. More than 10 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the past two weeks as businesses of all kinds bore the brunt of pandemic shutdown orders.
What’s more, Quibi’s limited library may turn out to be a liability with a longer trial period, says Kirby Grines, founder of 43Twenty, a strategic advisory firm for direct-to-consumer video.
“Let’s say people do consume this content and consume a lot of it. They’re looking for a lot of things to fill out increased entertainment time,” says Grines. “Are they going to subscribe to the plan, or did they consume everything out of the service? There are 50 launch titles, seven-minute chunks—not a whole lot of content. Quibi is promising a good refresh schedule, but production has stagnated.”
Katzenberg told Variety last week that Quibi has filmed enough content to last through Halloween this year. The startup—anticipating a different sort of disaster, a potential Writers Guild strike—upped its release schedule from 8,500 episodes to 9,600 episodes in the first year, he said.
Asked how Quibi’s success could be defined or measured in the face of the pandemic’s extraordinary circumstances, Katzenberg tells Fortune: “The answer is, we’re in uncharted territory.”
“Our feeling is, what matters to Quibi, what our business is built on, is paid net subscribers. Period,” he says. “We won’t have paid net subscribers for a couple of months, and that’s the business decision that Meg and I made four weeks ago.”
Will Quibi’s phone-first content catch on with homebound viewers who can watch shows on their living room televisions using services like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon, and others? Both Whitman and Katzenberg have insisted that the popular streaming services are not Quibi rivals—short-form video apps like YouTube and TikTok are perhaps more accurate—though the reality is that they all compete for screen time in a quarantine.
“What Quibi is trying to do is somewhere [in terms of difficulty] between a hat trick and a moonshot,” says Eric Schmitt, a TV and digital video analyst at Gartner. “They’ve got to do all this in an environment where people have access to the big screen.”
Katzenberg, who has faced skepticism about Quibi for months on end, isn’t fazed: “All I can say is, for 45 years I’ve never had anything that was really, really good that didn’t work.”
