Quibi launched last year as a streaming service designed for mobile viewing; all content could be watched in portrait mode, and episodes were never more than a few minutes long. The unique gimmick wasn't enough to save the service, which shut down in December, but now the remains of Quibi might be snatched up by Roku.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Quibi is in advanced talks to sell its content catalog to Roku, according to people familiar with the matter. Roku has its own free (ad-supported) streaming service in the form of The Roku Channel, which was previously exclusive to the company's own streaming hardware, but recently became available on other platforms. It's not clear yet how much Roku is paying for the remains of Quibi, and talks could still fall apart.

The move would give Roku its own exclusive content for the first time, as The Roku Channel is currently only made up of licensed movies and TV shows. Even if much of Quibi's catalog isn't great, the purchase could be enough to get more people to download The Roku Channel, driving up ad revenue for Roku.

Source: Wall Street Journal

UPDATE: 2021/01/08 7:34am PST BY CORBIN DAVENPORT

Roku confirms

Roku has confirmed in a blog post that it has acquired Quibi's former content, and that the shows and movies will be available on The Roku Channel sometime this year. "The quick bites and big stories made famous on Quibi will be available to stream on The Roku Channel," the company said, "giving you access to hundreds of hours of new content. More importantly, all of this amazing content will be available to you for free. Plus, you’ll be able to watch content wherever you can watch The Roku Channel."

There's no exact date yet for when Quibi's remains will be viewable through The Roku Channel.