Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi will launch his new platform with six advertising partners including Google and Walmart.
The new mobile-first episodic show streamer expected to launch April 6, 2020, has also signed advertising deals with P&G, ABInBev, Progressive and PepsiCo.
Speaking at advertising festival Cannes Lions on Wednesday, Katzenberg said the platform will have eight major partners on board before launch. He said around $100 million in ad sales have been booked so far, roughly two-thirds of the $150 million ad inventory it will have at its debut.
The streaming platform is being built in partnership with the brands, and brands will be able to create serialized commercials that stream in succession, much like serialized shows. The service will be offered at two price points, an ad-inclusive subscription for $4.99 a month with commercials, and an ad-free subscription for $7.99 a month. Targeting a 25-35 year old demographic, Katzenberg said their research suggests 75 percent of the subscribers will take the lower-cost ad option.
Every piece of content that is five minutes or less will have a 6-10 second un-skippable ad before it screens, while every clip that is between 5-10 minutes in length will have a 15-second ad.
That will put Quibi at 2.5 minutes of ads per hour. Katzenberg compared it to broadcast at 17 minutes per hour and Hulu’s ad-sported service at 10 minutes per hour.
Quibi stands for “quick bites” of eight-minute episodes, and the service has already signed big Hollywood talent to develop scripted series including Steven Spielberg, Catherine Hardwicke, Paul Feig and Steven Soderbergh. Idris Elba and Tyra Banks are on board for unscripted series.
