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

Roku, Inc (NASDAQ: 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 (NYSE: 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 (NASDAQ: 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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