Netflix buys rights to Roald Dahl stories and characters

LOS GATOS (AP / BLOOMBERG) – The streaming platform Netflix has purchased the rights to the stories of author Roald Dahl, known for his children’s books such as Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. After three years of collaborating on series and films based on Dahl’s stories, the American company now acquires all of the Roald Dahl Story Company. This company owns the rights to all characters and stories created by the British writer who died in 1990.

Netflix doesn’t often buy other companies. Normally, the media company contracts with well-known television producers or directors for new programs. With the deal, the company hopes to create programs based on Dahl’s books that will appeal to children and adults alike as competition from, say, Disney + intensifies.

The amount for which Netflix will buy the Roald Dahl Story Company has not been disclosed. This is probably a significant amount. In the previous collaboration, according to media reports, Netflix paid between $ 500 million and $ 1 billion to use Dahl’s children.

Netflix is ​​currently working on a series based on the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, released in the Netherlands under the name Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Additionally, the streaming company is working with Sony on a musical version of Matilda. Films from both books have already been published.

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