Harry Potter films on HBO Max at launch!
Warner Bros. might own the Harry Potter movies, however the rights to show them in homes were currently held by NBC Universal until 2025. Even as late as yesterday, there was a report that HBO Max was trying to get the rights to those movies back a lot quicker. However, no one expected that to mean within 24 hours.
According to the report linked below, WB have managed to negotiate a deal with NBC Universal to get all eight Harry Potter movies. HBO Max subscribers were therefore shocked to find the Potter movies already available at launch. Here is what happened according to AdWeek’s TV editor Jason Lynch.
Much like Disney+ negotiated at the 11th hour to get a much bigger portion of its Marvel library on the service, HBO Max managed to get the entire Harry Potter series on its platform for launch.
— Jason Lynch 🇺🇦 (@jasonlynch) May 27, 2020
Here is what Kevin Reilly, content chief for HBO Max said in an interview only published yesterday by Business Insider. Here’s Reilly’s response after he confirmed that the Potter movies would not be on at launch.
“I’ll just say there is active engagement around that discussion. In terms of the marketplace, there’s a lot of opportunities for horsetrading. The marketplace is shifting, with the impact of COVID and different companies launching different services, and it creates a lot of opportunities for horsetrading. We’re seeing that across the board.”
This interview with Reilly was likely conducted some time ago by the outlet. Therefore, it was probably decided to publish this article closer to the actual launch of HBO Max. Now it seems that in the time gap from that interview happening to today, the deal, whatever it is, has clearly been completed.
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WB like Disney before them are new to the streaming game, and the ace in the hole for both studios is the library of franchise shows and movies. WB getting the Harry Potter films on HBO Max at launch is an excellent attraction to potential subscribers.
Honestly, I kinda wish HBO Max was available in the U.K., although less so for the library. When the original content starts to appear on HBO Max though, I can see me looking enviously at America. The fact all the Looney Tunes cartoons are on HBO Max would be enough to sell me, if I could access it from the U.K.
What do you think of the Harry Potter Movies on HBO Max at launch? Leave your thoughts in the usual place below.
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SOURCE: Business Insider, Jason Lynch (via Twitter)
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