In a highly significant play that illustrates its expansion ambitions, Roku has acquired the majority of Quibi’s original content catalogue after the latter shut down late last year.
The Wall Street Journal broke the story on Friday (January 8) and reported sources as saying the sale of more than 75 shows and documentaries is valued at less than $100m.
Content will play on the free, ad-supported Roku Channel, which by the fourth quarter of last year had doubled its reach within US households to an estimated 61.8m people.
Shares in Roku surged by roughly 5% before settling in the region of $390 by mid-afternoon on the NASDAQ exchange.
Quibi struggled to get subscriber momentum and announced in late October it was shutting down six months after launch. Jeffrey Katzenberg acknowledged at the time that the pandemic was a factor.
Shows set to appear on Roku Channel include drama Survive with Game Of Throne’s Sophie Turner and Corey Hawkins, thriller Most Dangerous Game starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz, and comedies Dummy with Anna Kendrick, and Flipped starring Will Forte and Kaitlin Olson. Roku Channel carries more than 40,000 films.
No comments yet