Quibi: Initial Impressions

After all the pre-launch buzz regarding Quibi, as I downloaded the recently released platform, I was skeptical about whether or not I would actually like or need it.

For those who missed the barrage of Quibi advertisements (popping up during the Superbowl as well as all over Tiktok), Quibi is the newest streaming platform to hit the app store specifically. Described as “Quick bites of captivating entertainment, created for mobile by the best talent, designed to fit perfectly into any moment of your day” on their website, Quibi is a mobile-centric streaming platform devoted towards short-form programming. From Chrissy Tiegen to Chance The Rapper, it feels like everyone and their mother now has a show on Quibi. In this brief, I will break down my initial impressions on the platform.

How Do You Watch a 5 Minute Video?

Quibi touts its vertically presented short-form content as its distinguishing factor. Usually, I consume content in this form through IGTV or Tiktok, where I’m accustomed to only watching for a minute (max) and then scrolling to the next, randomized video that pops up on my screen. However, with Quibi being presented in a similar way, I found it hard to break this mindset and try to actually get into a show-- especially knowing that each episode is only five minutes long. In fact, with the Quibi scripted shows, it felt more like I was watching a trailer. There just was not enough time in the episode to develop the characters enough for me to care about them. Thus, I did not find any incentive to watch the next episode. Without any recognizable IP (aside from the MTV Punk’d reboot), I had a hard time sorting through all the content and didn’t even know where to start. I initially checked out shows with talent that I like (such as “Flipped” with Will Forte and Kaitlin Olson, or “Nikki Fre$h” with Nicole Richie), but unfortunately, the shows just didn’t hold my interest after the first few minutes. It felt like there was too much story being crammed in too little time. 

I will admit, the Punk’d reboot with Chance The Rapper was funny. It was the first show I watched because 1) it was the only thing I recognized and 2) as a hip NYU student, I am obliged to like Chance The Rapper. However, even though these recognizable names drew me in, it wasn’t something that could keep me. In Punk’d, Chance doesn’t do anything that distinguishable as a host-- and not to any fault of his own. In 5 minutes, there’s just not enough time for any host to give meaningful amounts of insightful zingers or additions. 

Strength in Unscripted:

In general, I think that the unscripted formats worked best for Quibi. They were simple and concise bites that I didn’t have to think too much about. They kept me entertained for a few minutes and ended before I got bored with it. I thoroughly enjoyed how easy it was to watch “Dishmantled” with Tituss Burgess (where he and a panel of other celebrities judge professional chefs who try to re-create dishes that are blown up in front of them while they’re blindfolded… I mean, who thinks of these things? It feels like a fever dream and is absolute gold).

However, Quibi fails to impress with its scripted content. Short-form (and I’m talking short) just doesn’t give enough time for character development or the more granular details/scenes that make us get attached to shows. Further, the scripted realm is already so congested with content that I think Quibi is too late to compete (especially as they only offer all-original content that takes time to get into).

User Interface:

One of the biggest things that got on my nerves while using Quibi was the platform’s convoluted UI. Quibi has a large content library (and there’s even more to come), but with so much content presented in front of me, I didn’t even know where to start. The platform also does not sort their content clearly by genres, so I found it hard to browse or discover shows that I would be interested in.

When first signing up, they asked for my year of birth and gender. I assumed they would use this information in presenting me specialized content in their “Today For You” feed (which is the first thing you see when you open up the app). However, the content pushed onto my “curated” feed (which was, in this order: #FreeRayShawn, Punk’d, NBC News The Report, and The Rachel Hollis Show) was all over the board and made of shows that I had (for the most part) never heard about. I was not at all interested in doing a deeper investigation of these shows. Instead, I went to the “browse” page in hopes that I could explore shows sorted by genres/categories. Yet again, the categorization of the content was not conducive to helping the user explore content in an organized way. Having to scroll all the way to the bottom just to find shows sorted by categories such as “Laugh Out Loud”, “Adrenaline Rush” or “True Stories”, I threw in the towel for discovering new content that interested me.

Conclusion:

It’s important to consider that for most people, if they are planning to watch a ~5-minute long video, they don’t want to think about it.

With that in mind, if Quibi wants to keep its viewers, I think that they need to address the following issues. First, they need to make content easier to discover. The viewer is not going to want to sift through a disorganized variety of unrecognizable content just to find a Quibi original that might spark interest. Quibi needs to make the algorithm smarter in determining what genres/content viewers are interested in.

As for the content they pick up, they should be focusing less on serialized/scripted content. Their news shows and unscripted formats don’t demand much from the viewer and held my interest and attention best.

Quibi doesn’t have room to make these many mistakes. Other streamers like Netflix have been around long enough to refine their user interfaces so that it’s easy for us to choose and watch content. The harsh truth is, people who download the app will give Quibi one chance. If-- at the core -- this platform fails to impress viewers, people will not stick around after the 90 days and start paying for their membership. Viewers will not wait around for Quibi to improve.

After my first impression, I was still on the fence about the platform. I don’t hate it, but I also don’t need it. I decided that if I had a spare 5 minutes to watch a quick video, I would rather just go to Youtube and watch something I already am familiar with and trust (like literally anything Bon Appetit puts out). Or, at least I would let the Youtube suggested queue point me to the next short-form video. All things considered, as good as it is to see Punk’d come back, it’s just not enough to keep me on Quibi.