Quibi has become the latest company to call off a planned gathering amid growing coronavirus fears, with a launch event scheduled for next month canceled “out of an abundance of caution.”
“While we look forward to launching the Quibi app on April 6, we have decided to cancel our pre-launch event party out of an abundance of caution as we continue to monitor COVID-19,” a spokesperson said Monday. “Supporting the health and well-being of everyone involved is our top priority.”
The event celebrating the long-awaited launch of the mobile streaming service was set to take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 5.
The decision comes as a number of other Hollywood and entertainment events have been postponed or canceled as concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, continue to mount.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced last week that South By Southwest would not take place as planned next week, and multiple networks have scrapped their annual upfront events, opting instead for smaller-scale meetings or virtual presentations.
Quibi, a mobile-oriented streaming service from Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg, is set to launch to consumers on April 6. The launch has been in the works for nearly two years, during which time the company has raised $1.75 billion to fund its slate of “bite-sized” original content. Quibi announced last week that the service would offer more than 50 original titles at launch, ranging from “Movies in Chapters” to unscripted reality programming and daily news updates.
Variety first reported the news.