Quibi founder Katzenberg: “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus”

Busy mornings and evenings starting Quibi, now, founder Jeffrey Katzenberg spends his days with what he calls “Zoom-a-roo” videoconferences as he tries to keep the newly launched platform afloat during the COVID-19 crisis.

Downloads have dropped despite a line-up of popular producers. Quibi, which offers entertainment and news programs in five- to 10-minute chunks was designed for people who were too busy to sit down and stream shows or movies.

“I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus,” Katzenberg said in a video interview. “Everything. But we own it.”

The streaming platform has also fallen out of the list of the 50 most downloaded free iPhone apps in the country a week after it went live on April 6.

As of now, the app has been downloaded by only 2.9 million customers, according to Sensor Tower. However, Quibi says the figure is closer to 3.5 million of which those who have the app, the company says 1.3 million are active users.

“Is it the avalanche of people that we wanted and were going for out of launch?” Katzenberg said. “The answer is no. It’s not up to what we wanted. It’s not close to what we wanted.”

““If we knew on March 1, which is when we had to make the call, what we know today, you would say that is not a good idea,” he said. “The answer is, it’s regrettable. But we are making enough gold out of hay here that I don’t regret it,” he added.