UPDATED 1/8, 10 a.m. ET: Roku has confirmed its purchase of the exclusive global distribution rights to the Quibi catalog, per Deadline. Some daily news shows, according to the report, were not part of the agreement. However, the deal includes the majority of the Quibi content library. Financial details were not made public.
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The ghost of Quibi lives on.
A report from the Wall Street Journal, published over the weekend, said Quibi is currently "in advanced talks" about selling its catalog of originals to Roku. According to the reported terms of the potential agreement, Roku would acquire the rights to Quibi's catalog, though the financial aspect of the deal isn't publicly known.
Presumably, the short-form content acquired in the possible deal would be used to bolster the expansion of the ad-assisted Roku Channel app. The deal, however, has not been formally reached and—per the WSJ—"could still fall apart."
Back in October, the Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman-helmed company announced plans to "wind down" its operations while kicking off an assets-selling process. The move came just six months after the launch of the short-form content provider. Just one month prior to that announcement, it was reported that Quibi was "exploring options" including a potential sale.
Early into Quibi's existence, Katzenberg explained his belief that the COVID-19 pandemic was largely to blame for a less-than-thrilling launch.
"I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus. Everything," he told the New York Times in May of last year. "But we own it."
Quibi originals included Die Hart with Kevin Hart, Mapleworth Murders with Paula Pell, the anthology series 50 States of Fright, Cody Heller's Dummy starring Anna Kendrick, and more.
In an ideal universe, Quibi would have simply hired this guy to get the word out about the quickest of bites:
