San Francisco (AFP)

Quibi, the short video streaming service launched in April, in the midst of a pandemic, is already looking for a buyer or having to close shop, believes the American site The Information.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Disney boss (1984-1994) and founder of the platform, "told people in the industry that he may have to shut down the business," wrote reporters at the exclusive news site on Tuesday.

Quibi entered service in the United States and Canada six months ago, with the intention of shaking up the video content industry, with original 10-minute, Hollywood-quality programs delivered through technology designed entirely for smartphones and mobility.

Thanks to the size of the boss and the billions of dollars promised, the project has won over stars from the big and small screen to produce films and series, from Steven Spielberg to Guillermo del Toro to Jennifer Lopez and Reese Witherspoon.

Content that Jeffrey Katzenberg is now trying to resell.

According to The Information, he has already tried to canvass Eddy Cue, a vice-president of Apple, Jason Kilar, boss of WarnerMedia, Fiji Simo, the head of the Facebook app, or even NBCUniversal.

To no avail, according to the publication's sources.

Quibi had bet big, with 50 programs available from day one.

"We pay up to $ 100,000 per minute for our feature films," Meg Whitman, CEO and former CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, told AFP.

A budget comparable to that of large productions from Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max or Disney +.

Quibi also wanted to make daily news slices, sports programs and entertainment shows, a type of content difficult to produce in full confinement.

To take into account the financial difficulties linked to the health crisis, the platform had reduced its trial offer from two weeks to 90 days.

The price of the subscription - $ 5 per month with advertising or $ 8 without - is comparable to that of the giant Disney +.

The strategy does not seem to have worked.

According to the American press, Quibi was counting on several million subscribers by April 2021, but in six months it would only have gained a few hundred thousand, including those who have the service for free through their operator.

Quibi did not immediately respond to an AFP solicitation.

© 2020 AFP