Quibi, the new streaming service designed to be watched as “quick bites” on the go, is currently missing playback speed controls, showing that the service is having trouble embracing its concept properly. Launched on April 6th, Quibi has a surprisingly big lineup of shows made by big names for a new, mobile-first streaming service.
Quibi has had questions over how successful its sales are and the usual launch day problems that most big services run into. The lineup of shows is mixed, with some standouts but overall, the launch lineup is more okay than groundbreaking. Quibi also released at a weird time, being designed as the video app you watch on breaks at work or on the bus. That’s a good idea, but coming out when people aren’t able to leave the house much, even for work, makes Quibi’s on-the-go marketing message somewhat unfortunate right now.
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Not having playback speed controls shows that Quibi doesn’t quite have the best handle on what its service offers to viewers. Most of the programming is lighter fare, focused on reality shows with the occasional more serious scripted drama. That kind of programming is exactly what should be on the service, as it fits better for short breaks and watching something when you have only a little time to devote to watching, putting Quibi more in line with YouTube videos than anything else.
This is where the lack of playback speed controls is so confusing. YouTube has them and has had for years, letting viewers change videos from 0.25x speed up to 2x. Since Quibi seems to fit in the same place that YouTube videos do, it would be an obvious move to do something similar with playback controls. It’s not just YouTube, as Netflix has those controls as well, ranging from 0.5x to 1.5x. This was a controversial feature from Netflix, especially since many of their shows and movies go for the more prestigious, including Emmy and Oscar nominations. Many felt that watching something like that messed with creators’ intentions, but Netflix went ahead with it anyway, despite the fact that they’re making much more traditional TV and movies.
Quibi was meant to be different than the traditional. From the short episodes to the ability to watch in portrait or landscape video, Quibi is trying to create a new TV paradigm. Quibi even cuts movies into pieces released one at a time. They’re trying to be innovative, to invent a streaming service that fits mobile and how people watch things differently now. If they’re trying to make quick episodes that people watch on a lunch break or other stolen moments, why not let viewers speed things up? If that’s the only way someone can finish a couple of episodes on the bus, why wouldn’t that feature be included?
While Quibi is looking to be a different streaming service, not including playback speed controls means that it’s still not even caught up to the present. Watching at different speeds fits perfectly with how the service is designed to be used. Instead, they’re missing a feature that YouTube, their closest competitor for casual viewing, and Netflix, the streaming behemoth already has. In trying to be different and looking to the future, Quibi has missed playback speed controls, the perfect feature that’s already out there.
