Mobile-first short-form video streaming start-up Quibi was reportedly exploring several strategic options including a possible sale, less than six months after launching its service in North America.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported the move was driven by the company’s struggles to lure subscribers to its offering in a crowded video streaming market.

Among the other possibilities under consideration were raising more money, or going public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, WSJ stated.

Quibi entered the market on 6 April with the ambitious goal of rivalling Netflix by offering videos of up to ten minutes, designed predominantly for mobile devices.

The app exceeded its executives’ performance expectations by accumulating 1.7 million downloads in its opening week, as per its own reported figures.

But shortly after, founder and chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg admitted the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak had impacted download numbers and unveiled features to boost usage.

App analytics company Appfiures estimated the app was downloaded 7.8 million times between 6 April and 20 September.