Quibi, the short-form streaming service that premiered back in April, isn’t doing too well. The streamer will likely only land 2 million paying customers by the end of 2020, drastically falling short of its 7.4 million target. They are also on the hunt for more money, needing something like $200 million of new funding by the second half of 2021. Thirdly, their advertising partners are trying to renegotiate their contracts due to COVID-19 and Quibi’s weak viewership numbers.
So, yeah, things are a bit rocky for ol’ Quibi.
That doesn’t mean they’re dead and gone yet. They are still rolling out new content with major Hollywood talent attached. Take Die Hart for example: it’s a brand new action series starring Kevin Hart that is set to premiere on July 20. The trailer for the series premiered today. Watch!
That certainly looks like a Kevin Hart show about the actor attempting to be a movie star. Well, actually, it looks like a Kevin Hart movie about the actor attempting to be a movie star. Because that’s what it is: a movie chopped up into multiple parts. It boasts a pretty stacked cast including Hart, John Travolta and Nathalie Emmanuel. It also has a considerable budget and looks and feels impressive. This easily could have been a feature-length film that played in theaters.
But will it be enough? Is Die Hart a strong enough draw to bring in new customers or has Quibi just wasted a shit-ton of money on something flashy that won’t mean squat? The series will be starting right around the time users’ 90-day free trials will be ending. So this will be the first Quibi original that actually costs money for many. Will it drum up business? Is Die Hart worth $4.99 or $7.99 a month?
I almost feel like Quibi’s demise is inevitable, at least that’s what much of Wall Street and Hollywood think. There are ways for the service to rebound (acquire the rights to syndicated content and do away with the “quick bite” approach for those properties, revive more hit shows like Reno 911, create viral sensations) but things are not off to a great start. They had an interesting premise (there is a market for shows shorter than 15 minutes) and some supremely talented people involved but…that’s it. Some of the content was promising but many of the shows were bland, boring and forgettable. And they spent far, far too much cash to get things rolling. So they have an uphill climb. Perhaps Die Hart will be the start of things turning around…or the beginning of the end.
Die Hart will start streaming on July 20 and will wrap up on July 29.