Deal allows streaming giant to develop new content using the popular children’s author’s stories and characters.
Netflix said it has agreed to buy the Roald Dahl Story Co., adding popular children’s stories like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Matilda” to its stable as it looks to stock up on content amid rising competition in the streaming business.
The streaming giant said Wednesday that by acquiring the U.K.-based company, which controls the rights to the author’s stories and characters like “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “The Twits” and “The BFG,” it aimed to produce animated and live-action films and TV shows. It also said it could produce games, live theater and consumer products based on Mr. Dahl’s creations.
The deal adds source material with proven cross-generational, mass appeal to the Netflix stable, with over 300 million of Mr. Dahl’s books sold globally. Financial terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, weren’t disclosed.
Netflix started collaborating with the Roald Dahl Story Co. three years ago, and is already working on a “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” TV show as well as “Matilda The Musical.”
The move for Mr. Dahl’s works comes as competition among streaming services intensifies. In July, Netflix said it had added 1.5 million subscribers globally in the second quarter, but lost 400,000 subscribers in North America. The company said it had 209.2 million subscribers worldwide.
To stand out from the crowd, streaming services have targeted exclusive content that will resonate with subscribers. In May,Amazon.comInc.bought MGM Studios for $8.45 billion, describing its catalog as a “treasure trove” that would significantly bolster Amazon’s offering to viewers.
In 2019, theWalt DisneyCo.released “The Mandalorian” on itsDisney+ streaming service, in the first of a series of TV shows based on the “Star Wars” franchise. Disney acquired “Star Wars” producer Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in 2012.
Netflix will likely seek to similarly leverage Mr. Dahl’s catalog.
Still, recent movie projects based on Mr. Dahl’s books have had a mixed reception at the box office. In 2005, a Warner Bros. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” movie starring Johnny Depp was a big hit, grossing $475 million worldwide, according to IMDb. But more recent releases haven’t fared quite so well. A 2016 version of “The BFG,” produced by Disney and directed by Steven Spielberg, grossed $195 million and was profitable, but a HBO Max version of “The Witches,” released last year and starring Anne Hathaway, earned tepid reviews and grossed roughly $27 million.
Mr. Dahl was born in Wales in 1916 to Norwegian parents. He served in Britain’s Royal Air Force in World War II before establishing himself as one of the world’s most successful children’s authors. Mr. Dahl died at 74 in 1990, and while his works have remained popular, he himself has been subject of controversy.
Last year his family apologized for anti-Semitic remarks made by Mr. Dahl in a 1983 magazine interview, while urging audiences to remember that the writer had “positively impacted young people for generations.”
Netflix jumped over 1% in premarket trading.
