Pottermore’s brand future unclear as content migrates to Warner Bros platform
JK Rowling’s digital brand, Pottermore, is set to be engulfed by new platform Wizarding World Digital, the result of a new deal with Warner Bros.
Pottermore first launched to subscribers in 2012
The joint venture will see two of the core rights holders of the Harry Potter franchise — Pottermore and Warner Bros — pool their digital assets and resources into one brand. The new platform aims to cater to an audience broader than that which currently tunes into Pottermore’s channels.
Pottermore’s exclusive features, interactive quizzes and e-commerce site will migrate to WizardingWorld.com in the near future.
Wizarding World Digital will be run by a newly-formed team comprising Pottermore digital staff. A spokesperson confirmed that the deal would not result in job losses at Pottermore, however would not comment directly on the future of the brand as an entity.
Pottermore Publishing, the publisher of the Harry Potter universe’s digital books and audio downloads, will be ‘completely unaffected’, according to the company.
Pottermore’s chairman, Neil Blair, told The Bookseller the deal would “widen and deepen what we have been able to do on Pottermore so far”.
“There's no reason now why we won't be able to do something because there's a rights issue,” he said.
Pottermore subscribers were sent an email this weekend (11 May) informing them that their data will transfer from Pottermore Ltd to Wizarding World Digital LLC and Wizarding World Digital Ltd on 15 May.
Wizarding World was established online at the tail end of 2018.
A spokesperson for Pottermore said: “No digital experience stands still. We are on a journey, and the next stage of that journey sees Pottermore partnering with Warner Bros.”
The launch of Pottermore was first announced in 2011. It confirmed a “small” number of job losses in March 2018 to “reflect the evolution of the business”.