Warner Bros. Discovery is making a big bet on live experiences like theme parks, studio tours, themed exhibitions and retail, creating a new division meant to capitalize on that opportunity.
The new division is called Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences, and will encompass both owned and operated experiences like its studio tours or exhibitions, as well as licensed entertainment, like its deals with Universal Destinations and Miral (which are the home of Harry Potter in theme parks).
Simon Robinson, COO of WBD Studios, will lead the new division, reporting to Bruce Campbell, WBD’s chief revenue and strategy officer, while continuing to report to CFO Gunnar Weidenfels on content operations.
Peter van Roden will be executive VP of global themed entertainment, leading the licensed operations like Harry Potter; while Sarah Roots will oversee owned operations like the studio tours in the U.K. and Hollywood, as well as retail.
“WBD has an incredible mix of location-based experiences for fans around the world, from theme parks and tours to exhibits, retail and more,” said Campbell in a statement. “Bringing these two teams together under one roof gives us an opportunity to leverage and coordinate the talent and resources across all of our experiential businesses to better delight our consumers through offering even more truly authentic and engaging in-person experiences and events in every market.”
Weidenfels actually teed up the news Wednesday at a Bank of America conference, where he said that the experiences group is “about a half billion dollar revenue business.”
“It’s growing very dynamically, and it is an area where we have made very significant investments,” Weidenfels said. “I love that business because it’s got among the greatest returns in the entire portfolio, and it’s a gift that keeps on giving in the most positive way. So we are looking at a pipeline. We’ve operated the Making of Harry Potter tour in Leavesden for more than a decade already. We opened Tokyo last year, which is going very well and has significantly contributed to growth and revenue and profitability for that unit. We’re looking at other other opportunities, and it’s very clear that this is an area where I would like to take a little more risk, fund some investments, and have a lot of confidence in our ability to get great returns, because the team really knows what they’re doing, and we’ve got a mold there that works very well.”
Live experiences are a burgeoning business for entertainment companies, led by Disney and Universal’s massive theme parks. However, companies like WBD have found their own way in, both through operated experiences like the Harry Potter exhibitions or studio tours, but also licensing, for IP like Harry Potter and DC Comics, which is controlled by Six Flags.