NBCUniversal today announced that it has inked a substantial deal which gives it exclusive TV rights to all films for Warner Bros’ upcoming J. K. Rowling’s Wizarding World franchise starting in July 2018. As a result of this deal the company now has on-air and digital rights across its TV networks until April 2025. Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them is the first film in this series that it’s going to hit the big screen this year on November 18th, but that’s not all.
As part of this deal, NBCUniversal also gets cable TV rights that were previously with Disney for all eight Harry Potter films. NBCU is planning to offer the movies via USA Network and Syfy.
The two networks will work with Warner Bros. to air extended director’s cut versions of the first two Harry Potter films, 3D versions of the last two films as well as a 2011 featurette titled When Harry Left Hogwarts.
There’s also provision in this deal for “exclusive content and events” for Universal theme parks, the events might include movie screenings, fan events, and other promotional activities tied to the Harry Potter series and the upcoming Fantastic Beats series. A plan to collaborate on digital content with J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore is also a part of this deal.
While financial terms of this deal were not disclosed, The Wall Street Journal reports that this deal is worth around $250 million, making it one of the largest deals for a franchise.
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