Is Quibi the future of short-form content? 

In spite of all the technological growth we’ve experienced over the past two decades, mainstream entertainment has been rather slow to adapt. Only recently have we seen streaming series start to realize they can run at virtually any length without any consequence. And still, you can pretty much assume each of these shows will still run anywhere from 23 minutes to 60 minutes in length. There’s still a very standard and accepted runtime length for content. In spite of the fact that it was a form borne of network TV, it’s a restriction we run with.

Yes, we can’t ignore the likes of YouTube. They revolutionized short-form content, but by and large, that has consisted of informative content and lower-budget fare. Whenever we got big productions in YouTube Premium, we were generally left with something that more resembled standard television. At the end of the day, Hollywood has been hesitant to adapt A-level content to a shorter form.

RELATED – Classic Story The Most Dangerous Game Gets Super Weird Quibi Treatment Starring Christoph Waltz

Enter Quibi. It may sound like a nonsense name, but it’s short for “quick bites,” as in quick bites of content. Everyday, you get an episode of content, and they all generally run less than 10 minutes in length. Most run from six to nine minutes. 

Quibi: A Brand-New Format

I will say, this is quite inventive. In today’s smart phone-laden society, I’m surprised more studios haven’t experimented with something like this in the future. Again, most big YouTube productions skew toward more standard TV length, and all their shorter form content tends to be educational, not serial in nature. So, it seems long overdue that we’d actually get a service that fully takes advantage of the age we live in.

These stories are short and meant to be viewed in chunks during your small bits of free time. You could squeeze in an episode or two on your bus ride, on your lunch break, or even your 15-minute break. I have to say, it’s a novel idea that I truly love. 

On the service, we have fun, stupid unscripted shows, news shows, and scripted TV with A-list actors. And they all seem like a solid fit. The unscripted and news stuff seem like an especially good fit, but I want to take a moment to highlighted the scripted stuff.

For too long we have had screen stories in three forms — feature, episode TV, and serialized TV. I guess you could argue the MCU has brought with it serialized features, but the main point here is that it’s still longer form content. With Quibi, the writers have had to adapt their ideas to be zippy and snappy. If you’re only working with five to 10 minutes, you only have that long to get a viewer invested, and you have to be sure the ending is intriguing enough that you want to keep watching.

But Does It Work?

I will say, at the start, the results are mixed. You have some shows that work better than others. Like with a lot of unscripted stuff, your mileage may vary. Some are dumb fun, some are dumb stupid.

I actually enjoy the shorter form news content with shows like The Report, Around the World, and Last Night’s Late Night. They last just long enough for me to cook my breakfast in the morning. They inform without getting too heavy, and I can see these things really catching on in a way a lot of YouTube news content can’t.

The scripted stuff is also mixed. While I like the idea of a lot of their thrillers like The Most Dangerous Game and When the Streetlights Go On, I get the distinct impression that the writers are still trying to figure out the right balance of content. How fast is too fast and can slow burn-type shows really survive in this new format? As a creative, it intrigues me to no end to see writers adapting to a new, shorter way of storytelling.

Also pretty cool is that you can watch all the shows vertically or horizontally. They manage to adapt the visuals so that you’re not losing any actual content. Split screens, title cards, and shots will fully adapt so you’re never left wondering what’s offscreen. I still don’t fully get how it works technically, but it’s actually quite impressive. If nothing else, it’s worth checking out for this alone.

So, Should I Get It?

It’s honestly too early to say whether or not this will be worth the $4.99 a month (or $7.99 without ads). Well, the good news is there is literally no risk right now. You can sign up for 90 days for free. And unlike services like Apple TV+ and Disney+, this one is kinda of jam-packed full of originalcontent already, with updates coming daily.

if nothing else, I think it’s worth dipping your toe into. In another two to three months, we’ll all be much better informed about whether or not we can fit another service into our lives. Especially one as unique as Quibi.

Have you had a chance to check out Quibi yet? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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