The Harry Potter movies are enduring classics which are still regularly being watched due to the gripping magical stories.
However, the question of how to stream them for those who aren’t still using physical copies of the DVD releases can be a tricky one.
It makes sense to assume that a streaming platform would have the movies available to stream, but this isn’t actually the case – at least, not right this minute.
The movies are currently only available to rent or purchase on platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, while popular streamers like Netflix and Hulu don’t house them.
There are two new streamers coming up this year – HBO Max and Peacock from NBCUniversal. It would make sense that the movies would be on HBO Max, as WarnerMedia owns the service and produced the movies.
However, Warner Bros signed away the digital rights to the movies in a huge deal in 2016, which does not expire until 2025.
This means that the new home for streaming Harry Potter movies will most likely be Peacock, when it launches.
Vanity Fair reported in January that the executive Vice President of content acquisitions at HBO Max, HBO, TruTV, TBS and TNT, Michael Quigley, said ‘Harry Potter is tied up with another programming group’ during the winter press tour of the Television Critics Association.
When the deal was struck with NBCUniversal in 2016, Warner Bros worldwide television distribution president Jeffrey R Schlesinger said: ‘We are pleased to bring one of the most successful and enduring global franchises to the networks of NBCUniversal. We feel this is a perfect new home for the Harry Potter films.’
