Quibi is in advanced talks to sell its content catalog to
Roku Inc.,
according to people familiar with the matter, as the short-form streaming service winds down its operations following an unsuccessful run.
Quibi, which was founded by the movie mogul
Jeffrey Katzenberg,
raised $1.75 billion with an ambitious plan to develop high-end content for mobile phones. But the service, which launched in April, never gained traction and Quibi said in October that it was shutting down.
Roku, which sells the most popular streaming-media player in the U.S., is pushing aggressively into content with its own ad-supported app, the Roku Channel, which offers movies and shows produced by other companies. A deal with Quibi would give Roku a roster of exclusive programming.
Under the terms the companies have discussed, Roku would acquire rights to Quibi’s library, the people familiar with the matter said. Financial terms of the proposed deal couldn’t be learned. The deal talks could still fall apart.
Quibi’s shows, with episodes less than 10 minutes in length, feature such stars as Anna Kendrick, Liam Hemsworth and Sophie Turner. The shows include “Most Dangerous Game,” a thriller about human-hunting; “Dummy,” a series about a talking sex doll; and “Murder House Flip,” a fusion of home-improvement programming and true-crime shows.
Quibi has struck deals with producers that allow Quibi to exhibit their shows on its service for seven years. Some of the contracts suggest that the content can’t be aired on other platforms, some people familiar with the deal terms said. One person familiar with Roku’s view said the contract terms wouldn’t prevent the company from showing the content on its service.
A deal with Quibi would be an important step in Roku’s efforts to build a content base of its own. Viewership of Quibi’s high-production-value shows was stunted in part because the app went live just as the coronavirus pandemic was forcing millions of Americans to stay home—a setback for a service designed for people on the go.
Making these shows exclusively available on the Roku Channel, a free app offering movies and shows that Roku launched in 2017, would likely boost the appeal of an app that traditionally lets users stream content available elsewhere.
Streaming programmers license content for the Roku Channel as part of their deals to get their app carried on Roku’s platforms. These negotiations can be testy, as streaming services are typically reluctant to make any of their content available free in an app that competes with their own.
Content licensing for the Roku Channel proved a major sticking point in negotiations with
…