Streaming service Quibi has partnered with CBS News to modernize “60 Minutes” which is a form of style programming for the era of bite-sized video. Now, instead of an hour-long magazine, CBS News will launch “60 in 6,” which will condense original news stories into six-minute episodes.
These episodes will be for viewing on mobile devices.
The deal will see the new platform producing one original story per week.
“This is a perfect opportunity to bring 60 Minutes’ style of storytelling, in-depth reporting, and investigative journalism to a new audience,” said 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, in a statement. “We are excited to launch ’60 In 6,’ as our digital footprint is more important than ever,” he said.
“60 Minutes has been, is, and will continue to be the gold standard of storytelling news journalism,” added Jeffrey Katzenberg, Quibi founder and chairman of the board. “Bringing their talent and resources to a new form of storytelling could not be more exciting for us at Quibi,” he said.
Apart from these changes, Quibi, which will also include a variety of entertainment offerings from big-name talent, like Sam Raimi, Guillermo del Toro, Antoine Fuqua and producer Jason Blum.
The idea behind this venture is to build a Netflix for the Snapchat generation, hence, making it a risky venture.
Quibi will launch in April 2020, and “60 in 6” will be available at that time. The service will cost $5 per month, or $8 to go ad-free.
Lastly, Wesley Lowery will also be joining the team as a correspondent. He will be leaving his post of national correspondent at The Washington Post to join the new Quibi platform.
