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'Roku Originals' will become the new name for Quibi's catalog

Let us never say the name Quibi ever again.

Roku

Roku is today announcing that the library of Quibi content that it purchased at the start of the year will be re-branded as Roku Originals. The news comes as the streaming company prepares to launch the 75-plus TV shows and movies purchased when Quibi collapsed. Each piece of content, which includes 12 series which were not released on Quibi when it was still operating, will debut on The Roku Channel this year. Roku’s Sweta Patel said that she was “thrilled to introduce this award-winning and diverse portfolio of entertainment,” with a star-studded lineup of talent.

Quibi, which was launched at the start of 2020, was a streaming service designed to cater for on-the-go viewing. These “Quick-Bites” of content, backed by $1.75 billion in funding and led by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, was quickly undone. Either because of the flimsy operating premise, or because the pandemic suddenly reduced a whole lot of people’s commuting time, which Quibi was designed to fill. Six months after launch, the platform closed down, and the vast catalog of material it had bankrolled was put up for sale.