Wattpad, the online storytelling network with 40 million registered users, has expanded the scope of its offering by launching a studio.

Wattpad Studio will act as coproducer, connecting producers with content creators on its platform to develop digital, TV or film projects. The studio will operate much like a multi-channel network – albeit in a different medium – not only facilitating content creation but facilitating the connection between marketers, writers and producers for branded content opportunities. The focus is on using its writers’ expertise to develop content for other platforms and in all its markets, including Canada, the company is looking for production partners to “bring stories to life.”

“We are in the business of telling stories,” said Aron Levitz, head of business development, Wattpad. “If you look at other networks like MCNs, they are in the business of developing talent, people talking into video cameras. We do something much more basic: we tell stories and we find the unique voices that can tell the stories to a specific audience.”

With Wattpad Studios, Levitz said, brands (and producers) will be able to come to a ready-made scripting studio where writers are connected to specific audiences across a global market of readers. The new division includes four initiatives: Wattpad Stars (the influencers); Wattpad Words (publisher-facing measurement and engagement platform); Wattpad Presents (network and producer facing partnerships for content development); and Wattpad Insights (a report churning platform that provides trends and other analytical information).

For the last several years, Wattpad has been a growing online writing community where young creators have developed fictional series and a fan-base that follows the narrative as it unfolds. It has has hosted 250 million original stories on its network since it was founded in 2006. The platform has worked with brands like GoodLife Fitness and Cadbury in Canada, which each sponsored multi-part series that targeted their audience in the same way that Kotex launched Carmilla for an online video viewership. GoodLife engaged a Wattpad writer to develop a written series around a romance involving two GoodLife regulars.

The idea for Wattpad Studios emerged after the company had success with a series in the Philippines. The company was able to negotiate a partnership with the TV5 Network in the country. That partnership resulted in the production of 200 episodes from 40 Wattpad stories. The company says “millions” of viewers have seen the series, which saw a 30% viewership increase between 2014 and 2015. Wattpad authors have even caught the interest of Paramount Pictures, which recently acquired the screen rights to After, a first novel from Wattpad author Anna Todd. The book, released one chapter at a time, has more than one billion reads, according to Wattpad.

“We are sitting in a place like Toronto where so much global film production is happening, where there is so much technical talent. We are really looking forward to working with some of the biggest and best producers here,” Levitz said. 

From Media in Canada