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Disney

Disney/Potter deal could be real magic    
Disney is close to finalizing a deal with Warner Bros. to bring a "Harry Potter" themed attraction to life, media insider Jim Hill said on his web site last week. While many of you may remember this same rumor popped up in 2003, an independent source tells HPANA it may have more validity than ever before.
Source: Various
Posted by Cheeser on Dec 27, 2005 at 10:36 AM

The marketing campaign that is 'Harry Potter'    
With the release of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" in a few weeks the Guardian newspaper in the UK looks at the phenomenal marketing campaign that has taken place and how and why other brands should take notice.
Source: The Guardian
Posted by Geri on Jun 25, 2005 at 8:22 PM

Success or distress?  
Is the vast success of the "Harry Potter" novels too much of a good thing? Arts Council England suggests this may be the case, pointing out that sales of childrens' books by other authors may have been damaged by JK Rowling's good fortune.
Source: Publishing News via Moreover
Posted by grae on Nov 7, 2003 at 4:33 PM

Amazon credits Harry Potter for stunning reversal  
The world's largest Internet retailer posted a $15.5 million profit in the third quarter, a dramatic reversal of Amazon's $35 million loss posted this time last year. The company's book sales jumped 15 percent, largely thanks to Harry Potter, and CEO Jeff Bezos says the 2003 holiday season will be Amazon's biggest yet.
Source: The News Tribune
Posted by Cheeser on Oct 22, 2003 at 4:05 PM

Top-earning fictional characters  
There is real money being made in the land of make-believe. Not to mention in Middle Earth, 100 Acre Wood and in a galaxy far, far away. According to Forbes, Harry Potter is No. 3 on the list of top-earning fictional characters.
Source: Forbes
Posted by Geri on Oct 13, 2003 at 9:35 PM

Success of 'Phoenix' launches foreign venue  
While the megaseller "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" failed to create as much of a noticeable ripple in the publishing industry as it did with the four before it, it is, yet again, opening doors and helping out its crafters in another, related way. Among other books, "Phoenix" is rapidly opening the door to Spanish readers, encouraging major book chains to offer more foreign-friendly services.
Source: Miami Herald via Wizard News
Posted by James on Sep 17, 2003 at 7:39 PM

Harry Potter faces Tanya Grotter once more  
Just when you thought it was over between them, a new court date has been set to hear an appeal to the ruling in April that prevented sales of the Dutch version of Tanya Grotter. An Amsterdam court ruled that the books were too similar to JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, but Grotter author Dmitry Yemets continues to call them "parodies."
Source: News 2000 via Moreover
Posted by Cheeser on Sep 2, 2003 at 10:41 AM

Hype can hinder reading  
June Lemen details her account of the hype surrounding the release of the latest Harry Potter novel, and the lengths she had gone to to avoid being led to information about the book's plot. Frustrated at the overexposure that advertisers give the events or premieres of entertainment in any form is the centerpiece of this article; she claims her ability to be 'super-vigilant' has been all that has kept her from learning the entire 'Phoenix' text without even glancing at a page.
Source: Nashua Telegraph via iharrypotter.net
Posted by James on Aug 27, 2003 at 9:53 PM

BBC defends buying 'Potter' rights, other practices  
Publicly-financed British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is on the defensive after for-profit competitor BSkyB asked that the studio be forced to sell its most popular programs and justify the £10 million spent on acquiring the rights to show Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone this December. The company said the BBC has overstepped its charter and changes need to be made before its £2.5 billion license fee (tax) is renewed in 2006.
Source: Electronic Telegraph via Moreover
Posted by Cheeser on Aug 27, 2003 at 12:24 PM

HP theme-park speculation continues  
Although AOL Time Warner has claimed the rights to any possible 'Harry Potter' theme-park attractions, rumors are still circulating that both Universal and Disney were persuing those rights - and that Universal was told, "Thanks but no thanks. We've already awarded the theme park rights to someone else." The question remains - who actually has the rights?
Source: Jim Hill media via The Leaky Cauldron
Posted by grae on Aug 18, 2003 at 1:05 PM

AOL Time Warner nixes idea of Potter theme-park attraction  
There has been speculation that either Universal or Disney were making plans for a possible "Harry Potter" theme-park attraction - but according to AOL Time Warner, it's not going to happen any time soon.
Source: Orlando Sentinel via Wizard News
Posted by grae on Aug 8, 2003 at 10:49 AM

Disney Potter ride in 2006?    
A fan-operated site about all things Disney claims a Harry Potter-themed attraction may open three years from now in Walt Disney World, Florida. It was reported two weeks ago that Universal Studios head Bob Gault stated "Disney has Harry Potter wrapped up" in a company Q&A with his staff.
Source: The Disney Corner via The Leaky Cauldron
Posted by Cheeser on Aug 4, 2003 at 1:24 AM

Harry helps other fantasy series, authors  
Industry observers say Harry Potter has definitely helped lift the realm of fantasy into the spotlight. At the same time, authors of these series often have to defend the charge that their literature is somehow subpar: "We're always asked, 'When are you going to work on real books?' My stock answer is, 'Do you ask pediatricians when they're going to start treating real patients?'"
Source: Arizona Republic
Posted by Cheeser on Jul 30, 2003 at 12:43 AM

WB Home Video hold the 'Secrets' of money  
Thanks to this year's successful release of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," Warner Brothers leads the home video market, with Disney and Universal trailing behind.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Posted by eudaemonia on Jul 30, 2003 at 12:03 AM

Harry Potter theme park in store?    
Information garnered from an open lunchtime meeting between Bob Gault and the staff of Disney may have revealed that Disney is in a preliminary stage of constructing a Harry Potter-themed park.
Source: Screamscape via The Leaky Cauldron
Posted by James on Jul 25, 2003 at 4:46 PM

No Potter 'halo effect' seen for publishers  
Publishers like Scholastic and Simon & Schuster should be celebrating. The successful release of the fifth Harry Potter book and the memoirs of former first lady Hillary Clinton was to be expected, but other publishers had hoped the book-buying bandwagon would help their sales as well. A stagnant economy and distracted citizens again steered the focus away from bookstores. quite quickly.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
Posted by Cheeser on Jul 25, 2003 at 3:14 PM

Harry helps Warner Bros. over billion mark  
Thanks to movies like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Matrix Reloaded, Warner Bros. Pictures International has once again raked in over a billion bucks at the overseas box office for the third year in a row. And according to distribution president Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, they still have more high-potential movies scheduled for release this year.
Source: Reuters via iharrypotter.net
Posted by grae on Jul 24, 2003 at 10:49 AM

Harry eases Amazon's pain  
It appears that Amazon.com is having a rough time financially - for their second quarter they reported a whopping $43.3 million net loss. But thanks to all those Potter books customers ordered over the internet, things are a lot better than they might have been if JK hadn't finished OotP this year.
Source: Bloomberg via iharrypotter.net
Posted by grae on Jul 22, 2003 at 10:20 PM

Rowling's sizable increase in wealth  
JK Rowling is one of the few Britons who had managed to actually increase her wealth last year - by a whopping 50 million pounds. Adding this figure to her previous net income, and the sum, you ask? Try £280million.
Source: The Scotsman via The Leaky Cauldron
Posted by James on Jul 21, 2003 at 9:19 PM

Pottermania boosts secondhand book market  
Abebooks reports that previously read Harry Potter books have boosted their profits by 300%, indicative of the magic that the Harry Potter series works on all publishers and bookselling chains.
Source: Yahoo! Finance
Posted by James on Jul 18, 2003 at 12:31 PM