As the prospects continue to look dimmer for Quibi, Reese Witherspoon has been receiving criticism for her paycheck despite the platform and her program receiving little to no traction.
Founded in 2018 under the helm of Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former CEO of Walt Disney, Quibi was officially launched on to users on April of this year. It presented itself as a rival to streaming giants Netflix, saying it will target mobile users in particular.
Many of their features have been adapted with mobile users in mind. For instance, all of their contents flip and adjust to the screen automatically according to how the user holds his / her phone. Also, all of their contents are divided into shorter segments to satiate quick-fire viewings.
Two months ago, the expectations for the new streaming platform were mixed. While it succeeded in attracting $1.8 billion in investment, other worried that the muted release during a global pandemic and its limited target platform will inhibit Quibi from becoming an industry powerhouse.
Witherspoon was one of the many high-profile celebrities that Quibi brought in to hype their launch. She provides voiceover for “Fierce Queens”, a feminist take on the classic nature documentaries. The actress was reportedly given $6 million for her involvement with Quibi.
However, Page Six reports that this new take on BBC documentaries has failed to landed with audiences much like the platform itself. Quibi’s earliest showings have been a massive disappointment, a sentiment that was shared by its CEO Katzenberg.
Quibi only managed to get 3.5 million downloads and under 2 million active users. All those users are still in their 90-day free trial period, meaning that numbers are more likely to drop than to increase. Company executives have already decided to take a 10% cut to their salries because of this disappointing performance.
Quibi employees have begun to worry that their jobs may be at risk, according to Page Six’s report. Some have specified Witherspoon for being overpaid despite not generating interest nor contributing much.
When asked about these concerns, Quibi representatives said that the numbers for the actress’ involvement is inaccurate, adding that they are pleased with the show and thankful for Witherspoon’s involvement with it.
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Replaced!