Quibi expands 90-day free trial for anyone who signs up through April

Quibi, a star-studded mobile streaming service for short-form video, has pushed back its deadline to qualify for a 90-day free trial. Launching Monday in the US and Canada, Quibi will offer the free trial to anyone who signs up through the end of April. 

Quibi expands 90-day free trial for anyone who signs up through April Picture 1

Originally, Quibi offered the 90-day trial to people who preregistered before its launch date on April 6. Then, as measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus started to lock millions of people inside their homes and stifle the economy, Quibi expanded the free trial deadline until April 20. 

Now any new subscribers can unlock the extended free period before May 1. 

The people behind Quibi, a mobile-only subscription streaming service, believe it'll find a sweet spot in a crowded streaming landscape with its unconventional strategy: very expensive, star-packed programming released in 10-minute-or-less episodes that you can watch only on phones or mobile devices. The launch slate -- a fraction of what Quibi is producing -- includes shows featuring Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner, film star Idris Elba, The Hunger Games' Liam Hemsworth, model and entertainer Chrissy Teigen, Chance the Rapper, Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon and basketball superstar LeBron James, among many others. 

But Quibi is ramping up in the middle of a parade of new services, as both tech and media giants rush to define the future of video. Quibi will be competing for your subscription dollars against upstarts like Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Peacock and HBO Max, as well as established players like Netflix and YouTube, the short-video specialist that's already drawing in more than 2 billion viewers every month. 

Quibi would be a risky bet even in normal times. But it's also launching in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Quibi was designed as an exclusively mobile, short-form video service, based on the premise that people would gobble up these "quick bite" episodes throughout their day while on the go. That most people in the US are now essentially immobilized in their homes raises more uncertainty about how Quibi will be received.  

Quibi will have a $5 monthly subscription that includes ads and an $8 monthly subscription that's ad free. Before launch on Monday, you can sign up to get details of the free trial by submitting your email address at Quibi's web site -- you'll also receive email updates from Quibi if you do. After the service launches Monday, you can unlock the free trial by downloading the app and signing up for the service before the deadline.

Quibi has apps for both Apple's iOS and Google's Android operating system. An app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is already available for preorder in Apple's App Store, and you can preregister for the Android app in the Google Play Store.