Roku In Advanced Talks To Grab Beleaguered Quibi's Content Library: WSJ

Roku, Inc ROKU is in advanced negotiations with Quibi to acquire the rights to the latter’s content, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

What Happened: Roku would acquire rights to the content library of the Jeffrey Katzenberg-founded company under the terms discussed, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.

Quibi had reportedly forged deals with producers for a term of seven years, with some contracts forbidding the airing of the content on other platforms.

A Journal source said that the contract terms would not preclude Roku from using the content for its own platform.

Quibi announced it was shutting down in October — saying, the idea behind it wasn’t “strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service.”

Why It Matters: Quibi content will increase the appeal of the Roku Channel, which is a free app showing movies and TV shows, the Journal noted.

Last month, AT&T Inc’s T HBO Max channel became available on Roku, enabling users to see the DC superhero film “Wonder Woman 1984,” which was released on Christmas Day.

HBO parent WarnerMedia — a subsidiary of AT&T —  declined to license content for the free channel on Roku, according to a Journal source.

In September, Roku managed to get Comcast Corporation’s CMCSA Peacock streaming service ahead of rivals.

The two companies negotiated for months on content sharing for the Roku Channel and the free app gained titles such as “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Magnum P.I.” but some other popular shows such as “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” were withheld by Comcast’s NBCUniversal, as per the Journal.

Price Action: Roku shares closed nearly 2% at $332.02 on Thursday and fell 0.17% in the after-hours session.

Related Link: Disney+ Saw 28% Higher App Downloads Over Christmas Holiday

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