BBC Studios Invests In Quibi, Will Produce Original Nature Series ‘Fierce Queens’

BBC has become the latest major studio to invest in Quibi, and has simultaneously pacted with the video startup to produce upcoming nature series Fierce Queens.

BBC’s production arm, BBC Studios, has taken a “small stake” in Jeffrey Katzenberg’s business, Variety reports. Further financial details of the deal were not made public.

“We are pleased to have concluded an investment in Quibi and we both see good opportunities to work together on future projects,” BBC Studios said in a statement.

BBC’s investment sees it join Disney, MGM, 21st Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Entertainment One in funding Quibi. Those studios all contributed a collective $1 billion earlier this year. Katzenberg and CEO Meg Whitman recently said Quibi was seeking an additional $500 million in funding, and that it plans to spend $1 billion on producing its first year’s content — roughly 7,000 individual pieces of content, comprising dozens of shows.

One of those shows will be Fierce Queens, which BBC Studios won at commission. An official description from the BBC says the series will profile “phenomenal female animals: the rebel matriarchs, powerful leaders and dangerous lovers of the natural world. From hyenas to fireflies, meerkats to humpback whales, we will bring you the most dramatic natural history stories from a fresh female perspective.”

BBC’s award-winning Natural History Unit will produce the series. Jo Shinner (BBC’s Animals Behaving Badly) will executive produce.

Quibi is set for launch in April 2020, and plans to roll out around 25 new pieces of shortform content each and every day.