AT&T casts sponsorship spell over new 'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' game

AT&T is now part of Harry Potter lore as the first brand to ink a sponsorship deal with the new augmented reality game about the wizarding world. AT&T stores are incorporated into the landscape of the game, called “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite,” which is by Niantic, the creator of “Pokémon Go." AT&T acquired Time Warner last year, in a deal that included Warner Bros., the studio that owns rights to Harry Potter. AT&T and Cricket Wireless, which it owns, appear to be the only sponsors in the game so far, which debuted Friday after a soft launch on Thursday. An AT&T spokeswoman confirmed its involvement in the game but declined to reveal financial terms of the integration. The game includes "inns" and "fortresses" that can be accessed when playing from inside more than 10,000 AT&T and Cricket Wireless retail stores. The Inns and fortresses allow players to recharge their energy, find challenges or encounter other virtual wizards and magical creatures. The promotion started today for AT&T and will kick off on July 15 for Cricket. The game is positioned to tap into the raging fandom of the Harry Potter books and movie franchise while replicating the success of “Pokémon Go,” which showed the possibilities of augmented reality in mobile games. Starbucks and Sprint became the first U.S. sponsors in “Pokémon Go” six months after it was released in July 2016. Their logos appeared in the game map, in a move to lure players to visit their physical... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-06-21 21:00:51 UTC ]
News tagged with: #virtual space #in-app purchases #$2 million #senior vp #digital marketing #nielsen #time warner #harry potter

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NBA playoffs: Ben Simmons triple-double leads 76ers to Game 2 win over Nets

Ben Simmons got an earful from the Philly crowd. With the same 76ers fans Simmons put on blast for booing in the playoff opener now going wild in Game 2, Simmons cupped a hand to his right ear just like Allen Iverson's signature move to spur the cheers even louder. And he did it with Iverson... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors told to write under pseudonyms to fuel debut obsession, claims Harris

Authors are being told to write under pseudonyms to present themselves as debut writers and feed the publishing industry’s “obsession” with new, marketable voices, Joanne Harris has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #authors told #debut writers #publishing industry #joanne harris


Easter Titles Help Lift Unit Sales 4.3% in Early April

With Easter having passed by this time in 2018 and the holy day still a few weeks away this year, overall unit sales of print books rose 4.3% in the week ended Apr. 6, 2019, over the comparable week last year, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Late Easter Leads to Unit Drop at End of March

Unit sales of print books dropped 7.1% in the week ended Mar. 23, 2019, compared to the similar week in 2018, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Troy video game developer Velan Studios signs publishing deal with Electronic Arts

The Troy-based independent game developer Velan Studios has teamed up with one of the giants of the video game industry. Velan announced Tuesday that Electronic Arts Inc. will be the publisher for its first original game for consoles, PCs, and mobile. The studio also said it will be adding 40... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2019-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #electronic arts #development team


Stormzy joins cast of Noughts + Crosses TV adaptation

British musician Stormzy is joining the cast of the BBC One adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s YA novel Noughts & Crosses (Penguin Random House Children's). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yellow Kite picks up 'game-changing' Booze Control book

Yellow Kite has picked up a "game-changing" examination of alcohol and its effects by Professor David Nutt. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unit Sales Flat in Early March

Unit sales of print books were flat in the week ended Mar. 9, 2019, compared to the similar week in 2018, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DK Sells Prima Games Digital Assets

As part of closing its Prima Games imprint, DK has sold Prima’s digital assets to Asteri Holdings, a two-year old company that owns a network of game, entertainment, sports, news, and kids’ websites. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Casting a wide net: the rise and rise of podcasts

Renowned for their diversity, the popularity of podcasts has skyrocketed in recent years. This has not passed publishers by with many harnessing the potential of the medium by launching their own shows.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Potter’s F*** Up picked up by Pan Mac

Pan Macmillan has scooped romantic comedy writer Alexandra Potter’s "uplifting" novel about the pressures of hitting 40 in an "Instagram-perfect" world. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Potter lands Eisenberg short stories in first Europa buy

Europa Editions has snapped up the latest collection of short stories by American writer Deborah Eisenberg.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #europa editions #latest collection #short stories


Unit Sales Close Out February On Down Note

With the four largest categories posting high-single-digit declines, unit sales of print books fell 7% in the week ended Mar. 2, 2019, compared to the similar week in 2018, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Print Units Fell Again in Mid-February

Unit sales of print books fell 6.4% in the week ended Feb. 23, 2019, compared to the similar week in 2018, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Booker Prize, Crankstart Foundation Ink Sponsorship Pact

The Booker Prize Foundation has signed an agreement with the Crankstart Foundation to take over sponsorship of the Booker prizes from the Man Group, which has ended its 18 year support off the awards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Baillie Gifford Prize boosts prize money to £50,000 in new sponsorship deal

The Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction has announced a new seven-year sponsorship agreement that will see its prize money boosted to £50,000. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sponsorship deal


Amblin takes on Parkin's 'secret game' for film

Amblin Partners has acquired the film rights to award-winning writer and journalist Simon Parkin’s forthcoming non-fiction book A Game of Birds and Wolves: The Secret Game That Won The War (Sceptre). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #film rights #award-winning writer


HMH Trade Forms Audiobook Unit

The newly formed HMH Audio will release its first titles this fall and plans to release 75 titles annually drawn from its adult and young reader lists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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V V James' thriller scoops TV deal with Game of Thrones studio

V V James’ fantasy novel Sanctuary (Gollancz) will be adapted by Entertainment 360, the television studio responsible for “Game of Thrones". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate buys two more of Parks' Harry McCoy

Canongate will publish the next two books in Alan Parks’ Glasgow-set Harry McCoy crime series, likened by the publisher to a "Celtic Sopranos". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #canongate buys