Failed mobile-first streaming service Quibi is in advanced discussions to sell the rights to its content library to Roku, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report doesn’t indicate a potential price for the acquisition, and notes that the two parties may not reach a deal.
If it were to happen, the deal could give the Roku Channel exclusive access to Quibi’s slate of programming. None of Quibi’s shows ever really took off, but Roku may feel that the content would stand a better chance when available on the best-selling streaming devices in the US.
Quibi announced it was shutting down back in October, just six months after its much-hyped launch. The service was headed by former HP CEO Meg Whitman and former Disney chairman and movie producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, who managed to raise almost $2 billion in funding before the app was released.
Katzenberg had already tried to get companies including Facebook and NBCUniversal to pick up Quibi programming ahead of its demise, according to The Information.
Disclosure: Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company. Vox Media also has a deal with Quibi to produce a show, and there were early talks about a Verge show as well.
