This is Viewpoints Explained…
In early 2020, Quibi – a short-form video streaming service – made headlines by raising 1.75 billion dollars before its official launch. But, just six months after going live, the platform shut down abruptley. At the time, the wall street journal blamed the failure on the pandemic, a lack of subscribers, and the fact that the streaming service market was already overcrowded.
Now, short-form streaming services – and short-form video – seem to be more popular than ever. Video apps like drama-box and reel-short offer feature-length films split up into bite-sized content… think similar to Tik-Tok or Instagram reels. But, with these new streaming platforms, the more clips you want to see, the more you have to pay. This strategy seems to be paying off– both drama-box and reel-short have generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue from in-app purchases so far this year. Downloads for both apps are also up 992 percent from 2023. That’s according to app store data.
What explains this increase? As social media sites push short-form video content, people are becoming accustomed to the format. Quick videos are easy to consume and save you from having to carve out time in your day to watch longer content. These types of videos are also easier to watch on mobile devices. According to e-marketer, for the first time americans are spending more time on their cell phones than they are watching television.
Quibi may have seemed like a failed experiment just a few years ago, but now it seems short-form video has exploded, with new platforms capitalizing on our increasing appetite for quick, on-the-go entertainment. As social media and mobile devices continue to dominate, the future of streaming may be shorter – and more profitable – than ever before.
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