Wattpad partners with Turner, M. Night Shyamalan for 'Tales from the Crypt'
LOS ANGELES -- Wattpad, an online community of readers and writers, announced Monday that it is kicking off a development partnership with broadcast giant Turner.
The first project, scheduled to debut next year, will be TNT's Tales from the Crypt horror block. The 1950s comic will be adapted into a "weekly dose of terror and suspense curated by M. Night Shyamalan," Wattpad and Turner said.
As part of this collaboration, Wattpad community members can submit stories to Turner, and selected writers may have their stories adapted.
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Both companies benefit from joining forces. For Wattpad, the overall goal is to give its 45 million users the opportunity to have their works adapted by Turner networks for TV, digital and mobile platforms. For Turner, the partnership allows them to tap into the platform's built-in fan communities and the data surrounding Wattpad's most popular content.
"It’s really a way to help the industry hone in on stories that have importance," Wattpad Studios Head Aron Levitz told Mashable. "Importance isn’t chosen by us; it’s chosen by our audience and users. It’s what they are reading the most and engaging around the most. With that data, insight and audience, we are giving Turner a chance to be more successful at what they do: Develop and produce content."
"It’s really a way to help the industry hone in on stories that have importance."
Tales from the Crypt was a natural first project for the partnership, since horror is one of the most popular genres on Wattpad.
"It's about expanding the horror universe further," Levitz said. "Horror has an exceptionally engaging community on Wattpad and around the world. It’s a really good place to start."
Justin Williams, senior vice president of digital ventures for TNT and TBS, echoed the enthusiasm for the project, calling the partnership with Wattpad a "perfect intersection of content and fan engagement."
Founded in 2006, the Toronto-based Wattpad has raised $66.8 million in funding from investors such as August Capital and Golden Venture Partners.
According to Wattpad, users typically spend around 30 minutes per day using the site, with about 2 million writers sharing something on the platform each month. There have been more than 250 million uploads to date.
News of the Turner partnership comes just over a month after Wattpad announced the launch of its studios division.
Already, Wattpad has partnered up with a handful of major players in entertainment, including United Talent Agency, Paramount Pictures and TV5 Networks (a Filipino commercial television network).
Studios including 20th Century Fox and Universal have even utilized Wattpad to promote some of their biggest films, including Fox's The Fault in Our Stars and Universal's The Purge: Anarchy.
TV5 Network’s Wattpad Presents has reached millions of viewers, and the network has seen its total viewership increase by 30% between 2014 and 2015, according to Wattpad.
More recently, YouTube star Grace Helbig launched “Writing with Grace” on Wattpad as part of AT&T’s HelloLab series, giving Helbig's fans the chance to collaborate on a crowdsourced novella.
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Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
