Quibi · Strategy · Mid · 45 to 60 minutes

Should Quibi launch nationally now?

Quibi is a planned subscription streaming service for phones, built around original shows split into roughly 10-minute episodes. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

product strategy
customer insight
market analysis
experiment design
prioritization

The situation

Early 2020, Quibi is nearing launch. The company has raised $1.75B, signed major talent, secured about $150M in advertiser commitments, and lined up a T-Mobile distribution partnership. The product vision is a paid, mobile-only service for original shows told in episodes of 10 minutes or less, supported by a portrait-to-landscape viewing feature called Turnstyle. Marketing wants a high-profile national debut, and content partners expect scale. But the product team has little direct evidence that people will pay for premium short-form entertainment on their phones, or that Quibi's real competition is only other streaming services. Assume the final go or no-go launch recommendation is due in eight weeks. Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg ask you, as the PM for core viewing, to recommend whether Quibi should proceed with the planned launch approach, change the scope or timing, or validate different assumptions first. Your challenge is to give a strategy that protects credibility with partners while reducing the risk of building a service people do not need.

What to produce

A 1 to 2 page product strategy memo.

Your answer must

Make a clear recommendation on whether to proceed with the planned launch, delay it, or narrow it to a staged launch, and explain why.
Define the primary target user and the specific use case or unmet need Quibi should win first, including why that use case is strong enough to support a paid product.
Frame the competitive set, including both subscription streamers and free mobile attention apps, and explain what differentiation Quibi can credibly claim.
Propose 2 to 3 validation steps or limited-launch experiments to test the riskiest assumptions before broad scale, with signals that would change your recommendation.
List the key success metrics, decision gates, and top risks for the next phase, with brief mitigation ideas.

Constraints

Several original shows and celebrity talent commitments are already in production or completed.
Advertiser commitments and the T-Mobile partnership create pressure to keep launch momentum and public credibility.
The current concept is still a paid, mobile-only service centered on short original episodes and Turnstyle.
Do not assume Quibi can build a full TV or desktop product before this decision is made.

Format

Use sections such as recommendation, target user and problem, competition and differentiation, validation plan, and metrics and risks.

How Quibi actually played it

Post-mortem listing seven causes of Quibi failure, including no pressing problem, a competitive market without an advantage and content that did not carry the product.

Validate the problem before the big launch
Do not enter a crowded space without an edge
A single launch moment is a fragile plan

Built from Why Quibi Died: The $2B Dumpster Fire by Jaryd Hermann (How They Grow).