Benedict Smith
27 September 2024 11:03pm
Sky has launched legal action against Warner Brothers after allegedly being cut out of its new Harry Potter series.
According to Sky’s legal complaint, the companies agreed they would “co-fund” the production in a 2019 deal that would have given Sky the exclusive rights to market and distribute the Harry Potter series throughout Europe.
Instead, Sky claims, its “longstanding partner” decided to keep the series for itself for the launch of its new HBO Max streaming service.
Sky is now seeking hundreds of millions dollars in damages after allegedly being “brazenly” cut out of the show, which is expected to be released in 2026 or 2027.
“Warner has… brazenly denied Sky its right to partner on Warner’s highly valuable decade-long, tentpole television series adapting JK Rowling’s iconic Harry Potter novels,” it argued in its complaint, filed in a New York court on Friday.
“Instead, Warner has largely disregarded the parties’ agreement and sought to keep the Harry Potter content for itself so that Warner can use it as the cornerstone of the launch of its Max streaming service in Europe.”
Sky also claimed that Warner Brothers had consistently breached the 2019 agreement, with the US media giant said to have failed in its obligations to provide it with at least four series per year to partner on.
‘Misconduct’
“Warner was obligated to present Sky with at least four shows per year across 2021, 2022, and 2023 but undisputedly fell far short of that mark, in certain years offering barely a single qualifying series,” the complaint states.
It also withheld “critical, contractually required information necessary for Sky to evaluate any potential options that it did receive”, Sky claimed.
“This misconduct has deprived Sky of its bargained-for opportunity to co-fund, co-produce, and subsequently exploit exclusively in UK and European territories all manner of top-end Warner content.”
A Sky spokesman said in a statement: “Warner Brothers. Discovery is a longstanding partner to our business. In the course of our work together, we have been unable to resolve a dispute over a specific agreement.
“As a result of exposure to harm and losses we have initiated proceedings to safeguard our interests and enforce our rights to partner in the production and distribution of highly valuable content. We look forward to achieving a swift and conclusive resolution of the matter.”
The new Harry Potter series launched a casting call for actors earlier this month, seeking children between the ages of 9 and 11 and living in the UK or Ireland to play Harry, Ron and Hermione.
According to the notice, the production team is “committed to inclusive, diverse casting”.
A spokesman for Warner Brothers Discovery claimed that Sky was “deeply concerned about the viability of its business” and that its legal action was a negotiating tactic.
“The HBO and Max licensing agreements expire at the end of 2025, and this lawsuit is a baseless attempt by Sky and Comcast to try and gain leverage in its negotiations for our programming beyond that date,” he said.
“We know HBO-branded shows are critical to Sky, as evidenced by their desire for over a year to find a way to renew our agreements, and this lawsuit makes it clear that Sky is deeply concerned about the viability of its business were it to lose our award-winning content.
“WBD will vigorously defend itself from this unfounded lawsuit as we move forward undeterred with plans to launch Max, including the new HBO Harry Potter series, in the UK and other European markets in 2026.”
The post Sky sues Warner Brothers for ‘cutting it out’ of Harry Potter series appeared first on The Telegraph.
