Roku Inc. agreed to acquire the rights to content from Quibi, a deal that will make the defunct short-form streaming service’s shows available on the biggest streaming-media player in the U.S.
Roku paid less than $100 million to acquire the shows, according to people familiar with the matter. Roku will have the global distribution rights to Quibi’s content—more than 75 shows and documentaries—for the rest of 2021, the companies said Friday.
Roku will display Quibi’s content in the Roku Channel, an app that is filled with more than 40,000 movies and TV shows. Roku sells advertising on the channel and has kept it stocked with fresh content by negotiating with programmers who want their content to be carried on Roku’s media player.
Quibi’s deal with Roku is the latest deal to put exclusive content on its service, which is largely a compendium of movies and TV shows that can also be viewed elsewhere. Adding Quibi’s shows to the Roku Channel could give the streaming player more leverage in negotiations with advertisers, who may pay a premium to show their ads alongside shows viewers can’t watch elsewhere.
Write to Benjamin Mullin at [email protected] and Joe Flint at [email protected]
