Warner Bros. sued over partnership with Sky for ‘Harry Potter’ series

Sky group has filed a lawsuit Friday against Warner Bros., accusing the studio of violating their agreement by refusing to work on the upcoming TV series “Harry Potter.”

Sky has long distributed Warner Bros. content in the United Kingdom, but the relationship has soured recently as Warners prepares to launch its rival Max streaming service in Europe.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, marks a complete collapse of the partnership. According to the lawsuit, Warners is required to offer four Max series per year, to be co-financed and co-produced by Sky and distributed exclusively to Sky viewers in Britain and other European territories.

But Sky claims that Warner Bros. has not honored that deal since its inception in 2021, most recently by refusing to co-produce the upcoming Harry Potter series.

“Warner’s reason for refusing to fulfill his obligations to Sky could not be clearer,” the lawsuit said. “Warner has chosen to keep the Harry Potter series for himself and make the blockbuster series the cornerstone of his own Max rollout in Europe.”

Sky, owned by Comcast, claims it will lose hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of Warners Bros.’ violation of the agreement.

The agreement expires at the end of 2025. Max has started its rollout in Europe and is expected to launch in Britain in 2026.

In the lawsuit, Sky accuses Warner Bros. of having turned around ‘Harry Potter’. The series was publicly announced in April 2023, but a month later, when Sky executives asked why it had not been offered to Sky as part of their partnership, Warner Bros. executives said. that the series had not been “ordered” and that they had not seen their series. according to the company’s press release.

Contradicting the press release, executives said that the series had not been given the green light, and may never be given one, and was therefore not subject to Sky’s co-financing arrangement.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. released a series of announcements over the past year regarding the casting and additions to the show’s creative team.

Sky states that Warner Bros. at that time had not complied with the agreement for two years.

The contract, which was attached to the lawsuit, requires Sky to finance 20% to 25% of the budget of the shows on which it partners with Warner Bros. The company promised to commit at least $40 million in the first year of the contract. rising to $100 million by 2025.

Sky Group CEO Dana Strong said at a conference in June that the companies were in discussions about how to extend their relationship after the contract expires.

“Regardless, in any scenario, Sky customers will have Warner content on Sky platforms,” she said at the time.