After a brief three-month stint on HBO Max since the WarnerMedia streaming service launched in May, all eight Harry Potter films have found a new home in NBCUniversal’s new streaming service Peacock. It was announced that the Harry Potter series would be available to stream on Peacock later this year.
HBO Max surprised viewers when it announced in July that the popular movies based on J.K. Rowling’s books would be leaving the service as of Aug. 25.
The availability of the eight-film series on NBCUniversal’s streaming service was detailed as a six-month window starting in October and running into 2021. This deal aligns with NBCU’s 2016 deal with Warner Bros. securing TV and digital rights to the Harry Potter movies (including Fantastic Beasts) from 2018-2025. This deal includes NBCU’s Universal Studios theme parks which have incorporated content in their popular Potter-themed attractions.
“The Harry Potter franchise is beloved by people of all ages and represents the caliber of quality entertainment customers can expect to find on Peacock,” said Frances Manfredi, Peacock’s president of content acquisition and strategy, in a statement. “We’ve built a world-class collection of iconic movies and shows, and we will continue to expand the film library with treasured titles from NBCUniversal and beyond that will surprise and delight Peacock customers time and time again.”
Since its debut in April, Comcast announced last week that Peacock has drawn 10 million sign-ups, but did not break down the data further in terms of full, paid subscribers vs. free viewers. While Peacock is still for now unavailable on Roku and Amazon’s Fire TV platforms, Comcast has forecasted investing $2 billion into NBCU’s streaming outlet over 2020 and 2021.
In addition to the Harry Potter octet of movies, other film titles coming to Peacock in the upcoming months include Batman Begins, Beetlejuice, Brokeback Mountain, The Big Lebowski, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Conjuring, The Dark Knight, Dolphin Tale, E.T.; Evan Almighty, The Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift, Hulk, The Kids Are All Right, and Little Fockers. Over the next six months, Trolls World Tour will also arrive to Peacock after skipping its theatrical run due to the coronavirus pandemic.