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Sky has accused Warner Bros Discovery of repeatedly violating an agreement that gave it the right to co-produce shows alongside the Max streaming service — including a new Harry Potter series that is expected to debut in 2026.
In a lawsuit filed in New York on Friday, Sky said “the loss of the opportunity to partner in the funding and production of the wholly unique and irreplaceable Harry Potter series cannot be completely or adequately quantified”.
But the Comcast-owned media group estimated the lost revenue would reach hundreds of millions of dollars “at the very least”, noting in the lawsuit that the value of the Harry Potter brand has been “estimated to be worth at least $25bn”.
Sky’s co-production deal dates back to 2019, when the Warner Bros studio was owned by AT&T. The confidential agreement required Warner to offer Sky the chance to co-fund and co-produce original content from HBO Max — the Warner-owned streaming service since rebranded as Max — every year, according to the lawsuit. Warner was subsequently spun off from AT&T and merged with Discovery to form WBD.
The dispute comes ahead of negotiations over the future of HBO programming on Sky in the UK, with WBD already talking to rival streaming and TV services about licensing its content once an exclusivity deal ends at the start of 2026.
WBD will show HBO programmes such as House of Dragons, Succession and White Lotus on its Max streaming service in the UK starting in 2026. Sky has exclusively shown these hit series — which are a crucial part of its bundle of entertainment and sports for subscribers — under a deal struck in 2019, the year after Comcast acquired Sky for about £30bn.
In response, WBD on Friday said the company would “vigorously defend” itself against the suit, calling it “a baseless attempt” to gain leverage in negotiations when licensing agreements with Sky expire in late 2025.
It said 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 added it would move forward “undeterred with plans to launch Max, including the new HBO Harry Potter series, in the UK and other European markets in 2026”.
Sky chief executive Dana Strong has said the group would strike a deal for HBO content on Sky platforms, which could include the broadcaster carrying Max as a channel. However, it is unlikely to be on the same exclusive terms as Sky has benefited from.
Sky said it had filed the lawsuit to “enforce our rights to partner in the production and distribution of highly valuable content”.
The US company announced plans for a new Harry Potter series in April 2023, with author JK Rowling acting as executive producer. The creator of the Harry Potter stories said at the time the series would be “a faithful and authentic adaptation of the books”.
Casting for the series began earlier this month — a fact Sky noted in its suit, calling it “the latest demonstration of its total disregard for Sky’s rights”, noting that production could start next April.
