News
Farewell Quibi
The short-form streaming service announced it would be shutting down, kicking off intense schadenfreude across both media and tech. The Quibi thesis went like this: People love short-form user-generated video (Youtube, TikTok, Snap) and premium video (Netflix, Disney+), so they should love short-form premium video and be willing to pay for it. Despite Quibi's failure, it was a great idea and arguably one of the most innovative to come out of Hollywood in years. Ultimately, they failed to execute because they tried to launch innovative technology with all the nimbleness of an old school media company (that's to say, almost none). It's a sad outcome for the Entertainment industry which has been slow to innovate (consumers practically had to drag the studios to a streaming model kicking and screaming). We could use more ideas like Quibi in the world and now that's looking less likely. Link.
Let the Game Streaming Wars Begin
The last two weeks saw a flurry of announcements in cloud game streaming with Facebook being the latest company to throw its hat in the ring. They're taking a different approach than competitors (which include Google, Microsoft, and reportedly Apple and Amazon) by adopting a free to play model. This strategy fits well with Facebook's strengths in gaming (remember Farmville?) and could prove superior to the competition. Stadia, Google's cloud gaming service, costs $9.99 a month and that doesn't include $129 for the controller or the prices for each game. By making the service free to play, Facebook eliminates many of the factors that have led Stadia to struggle with adoption. Link.
Get it Together Blue Apron
The pandemic should have been Blue Apron's time to shine, but the company couldn’t meet the surge in demand due to supply chain constraints. This led the meal-delivery company to lose 7.5% of subscribers in the last quarter. However, the customers who stuck around have been ordering more meals, leading to a 13% revenue boost. Management expects supply constraints to continue through the end of the year. The stock was down nearly 30% on the news. Link.
Spotify Plans to Raise Prices
The music streaming service added 6 million subscribers, bringing their total to 144 million. Revenue came in below expectations leading the stock to dip 6%. Spotify needs to raise prices, but the timing will be tricky given COVID so they'll probably wait until consumer sentiment improves. Link.
Audible Shows Up to the Podcast Party
Amazon's audiobook service added most major free podcasts as it seeks to become the top provider of the spoken word. Audible has been investing in exclusive podcasts for some time, but adding free podcasts sets it up to compete with Spotify and Apple. Audible offers membership plans ranging from $7.95 a month to $229.50 a year. Exclusive podcasts are only available to members. Interestingly, podcasts are also available on Amazon Music. It's unclear if they plan to separate podcasts and music like Apple (versus Spotify which integrates both in one app) or if they plan to have podcasts available through both. Link.
[ ], But Make it a Subscription
Hotels
After being decimated by the pandemic, Hotels are looking for more steady revenue streams. Some are targeting corporate workers with amenities that better enable remote work like desk space and meeting rooms. Others are after the leisure traveler. Luxury travel group Inspirato went entirely subscription based. The famous Chateau Marmont is also moving to a members-only model. Link.
AI Selected... Print Photos
For $6.99 a month, Google will mail you ten print photos from your camera roll selected by AI. Yep, that's really all there is to say on that. Link.
Get That Money, Honey
Moxie, Future, Playbook, and others
At-home fitness is booming and cashing VC checks. Link.
Dance
The e-bike subscription startup raised $17.8M to launch in Berlin. Link.
Calm
The meditation app is reportedly looking to raise another $150M at a $2.2B valuation. Link.