Quibi CEO Meg Whitman expresses optimism hours after founder Jeffrey Katzenberg blamed the streaming service's woes on coronavirus

Deadline

Hours after The New York Times published a downbeat interview with Katzenberg on Quibi's disappointing launch, Whitman offered some upbeat comments in an interview with Deadline. Although she conceded that Quibi had a launch that was “slightly below expectations" -- with 3.5 million downloads and 1.3 million users -- she added that "we’re pretty pleased about where we are.” Whitman also said the easing of coronavirus lockdowns will help Quibi. “As the country begins to open, that will be helpful to the use case," she said.