The new short-form video-streaming platform Quibi has yet to debut, but it has already sold out its entire card of advertising slots for the first year. Some 25 brands from 10 different companies have lined up to be part of the mobile-first streamer, which will offer original programming in a bite-sized, 10-minute-episode format.
The new service is scheduled to launch next month and intends to build on the foundations of short-burst video content that were laid by platforms like Facebook's IGTV on Instagram and Snap Originals.
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A new way to digest video
Quibi will carry original programming from the likes of Steven Spielberg, Steven Soderbergh, Guillermo del Toro, Sam Raimi, and others, as well as news from NBC and the BBC, and reality TV shows. The project was founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Meg Whitman serves as CEO.
A report by Axios says Quibi will feature non-skippable ads from a roster of household name brands including Anheuser-Busch InBev's (BUD -0.59%) Bud Light; Procter & Gamble's (PG -0.23%) Charmin; and Doritos, Mountain Dew, and Pepsi from PepsiCo (PEP -0.76%).
Quibi limited the advertising to just 10 companies for the first year, which generated $150 million in revenue, and though it isn't expanding that group yet, the advertisers in it will be allowed to switch which products they promote during that period.
For example, Alphabet's (GOOG 0.51%) (GOOGL 0.54%) Google is among the first tranche of advertisers. It may push Google Cloud to start, then switch to YouTube or Waymo later on.
These early partners were also promised they would be exclusive in their verticals, so don't expect to see Coca-Cola ads on Quibi any time soon. Ads will run for 6, 10, or 15 seconds.
