ViacomCBS Partners with Wattpad to Adapt Originals

Wattpad has long been a pipeline bringing adaptations of story content from emerging writers to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. ViacomCBS and the Wattpad studio arm are teaming up to create an original series list of hit titles on Wattpad and Webtoon.

Wattpad has been a story stepping stone for streaming services for years - The Kissing Booth and After franchises are two notable examples because Wattpad can extract a lot of internal data on how readers engage with stories what kind of specific storytelling return to. That can easily translate into successful service franchises hungry for new content, particularly content that appeals to younger viewers. (Later, for example, it started as a Harry Styles fanfiction posted on Wattpad.

ViacomCBS plans to work with the publisher's entertainment division to pull stories from Wattpad and its sister site, Webtoon, whose parent company, Naver, bought Wattpad for more than $ 600 million earlier this year. In addition, Wattpad Webtoon Studios will work with ViacomCBS to develop originals for its various networks and properties, including Paramount Plus, the companies announced today.

The originals are expected to appeal to Gen Z and millennial audiences specifically and will be sourced from various genres. "Wattpad Webtoon Studios is home to some of the most exciting new voices in comics and literature," Aron Levitz, president of Wattpad Webtoon Studios, said in a statement. "Between our massive global IP catalogue with built-in fandoms, and a roster of superstar comic artists and indie authors, we're fueling a new era of data-backed entertainment."