MUMBAI: Short-form video streaming app Quibi has achieved 1.7 million downloads in its first week, says its boss Meg Whitman.

The app, launched on 6 April, streams clips 10 minutes or shorter.

The short videos, or quick-bite videos, are ideally suited for short breaks or commuting, the company advertised. The app streams shows that are 10 minutes or even shorter. Another feature of the app is that it streams movies that are broken into small segments.

The company is making efforts to make Quibi available on TVs. As of now, the app is available only on tablets and smartphones.  

Whitman, in an interview with CNBC, feels that the COVID-19 pandemic has not impacted the launch.

"It turns out people have in-between moments at home. We don't actually think it hurt us," she said.

A few experts were skeptical of the short-video app. They were of the opinion that it would be difficult for Quibi to get users due to the COVID-19 lockdown. They thought that people who are cocooned at homes would prefer watching long-duration videos on bigger devices.

Quibi is now available as part of a 90-day free trial. While an ad-backed version is available in the US and Canada, an ad-free version has been made available in countries like Germany and the UK.

Quibi aims to compete with TV and OTTs like Netflix and social media video platforms such as Tiktok and YouTube.