Roku buys short-form video app Quibi's library of content

San Francisco

The Roku Channel will bring Quibi content to streamers sometime this year.

"In 2021, the quick bites and big stories made famous on Quibi will be available to stream on The Roku Channel, giving you access to hundreds of hours of new content," the company said in a statement on Friday.

Roku said it is working on launching more than 75 shows and hundreds of hours of entertainment in 2021. People will be able to watch Emmy award�winning content produced by the most successful studios in the business.

Programming will feature stars such as Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, Liam?Hemsworth, Anna Kendrick, Nicole Richie, Chrissy Teigen, Lena Waithe, and others.

Quibi that was launched last year announced to wind down the business and sell its content and technology assets within less than six months of operations.

Launched at the beginning of the pandemic with plans to reach 7.4 million subscribers this year, the platform fell far short of that.

Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman said in an open letter: "Our failure was not for lack of trying; we've considered and exhausted every option available to us".

The company was aiming to return funds to investors, including major Hollywood players who put in about $1.75 billion in Quibi.