Quibi is Now Playing on Your TV: AirPlay Support is Here, Chromecast Comes Next

The short video format streaming app Quibi, which started out in life as a mobile-only platform, is finally coming to terms with the realization that the experience of watching content on a larger screen such as a TV, is more immersive than on a smartphone. At least when users have the option of a TV, somewhere around them. The streaming platform has announced that the app has now gained support for Apple AirPlay, which means iPhone users can now stream Quibi shows to AirPlay enabled TVs and streaming devices such as the Apple TV.

Quibi has also confirmed that the support for Chromecast arrives next month, which is June, and that will allow Android phone users to also stream to a variety of smart TVs and streaming devices. “Sure we designed Quibi for on-the-go, but these days visiting the family room is like a day trip… so AirPlay support is live for iOS in Quibi 1.3. Working hard on Chromecast too which will be available in June,” says Tom Conrad, Chief Product Officer at Quibi, in a tweet.

Last month, Quibi had confirmed that it was working on rolling out support for Quibi streaming to TVs. This mobile-only streaming app is available for Android phones as well as the Apple iPhone, and currently offers users a 90-day free trial. After the free trial is over, the subscription costs Rs 650 per month for the Ad-Free tier. In India, there is only one subscription tier available, whereas in other countries, Quibi charges $4.99 per month for an ad-supported subscription plan or $7.99 for ad-free viewing. Quibi CEO Meg Whitman had then said the streaming app was fast-tracking support for TVs.

It would perhaps have been easier to make Quibi apps for a variety of smart TV and streaming device platforms, such as Google’s Android TV, Amazon’s Fire TV platform and the Apple TV box.

At present, some of the popular shows on Quibi include Elba vs Block which sees actor Idris Elba and professional rally driver Ken Block go behind the wheel to see who is the better driver, The Stranger which is about a rideshare potentially evolving into stalking and the Most Dangerous Game which sees a man (played by Liam Hemsworth) in a dystopian thriller playing a game to pay off his debt. Most episodes are in the range of 6 minutes to 9 minutes.

Quibi jumped into the video streaming space that now includes Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+, to name a few.