Quibi calls off launch event 

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Quibi has cancelled its April 5 launch event over fears of Coronavirus. 

The event was set to take place in Culver City, California the day before the streamer’s launch on April 6, but the Katzenberg-Whitman startup has called off the glitzy affair “out of an abundance of caution” amid its spread.

It was expected that top personalities featured in Quibi’s original content, such as Liam Hemsworth, Sophie Turner and Jennifer Lopez, were planning on attending.

However, a spokesperson confirmed to Variety that “Supporting the health and well-being of everyone involved is our top priority.”

This is the latest event to be cancelled out of fear of the virus following SXSW, Cabsat, MIPTV, the European launch of Disney+ and a host of others.

The announcement comes after news that Quibi is set to offer new users a 90-day free trial of the service. After the trial, Quibi will cost US$4.99 per month with ads or US$7.99 per month without ads.

The service, which promises to create high-quality content under 10 minutes in length, will kick off its offer with 50 launch titles. These range from four ‘movies in chapters’ (full length movies split into chunks between four and 10 minutes), unscripted shows (such as the Chance the Rapper-starring Punk’d reboot) and scripted shows (including the Liam Hemsworth-Christoph Waltz starring Most Dangerous Game).

Quibi also revealed it has raised an additional US$750 million in its latest funding round, taking its total funding to US$1.75 billion ahead of launch.