Wattpad Announces 80 Million Monthly User Milestone

Users have grown 23 percent in a year of continued international expansion

TORONTO - August 15, 2019 - Wattpad, the global multi-platform entertainment company for original stories, today announced that the platform has surpassed 80 million monthly users - a 23 percent increase from 2018. The milestone is the latest in a year of incredible international growth for Wattpad, which includes the launch of Wattpad Books, the company’s first direct publishing division, multiple new deals with international studios and entertainment brands, and global rollouts for the company’s latest monetization initiatives, Wattpad Premium and Wattpad Paid Stories.

"Wattpad exists because of the talented writers and supportive readers who have helped our community and product grow all over the world," said Jeanne Lam, General Manager, Wattpad. "Since day one our vision has been to entertain and connect the world through stories, and this milestone represents both our user growth and the success we've had making Wattpad the best platform in the world for writers and their fans. We're excited to continue to welcome new readers and writers to Wattpad, connecting them to stories they love and to each other, while bringing Wattpad stories to new mediums and audiences around the globe."

Other highlights from the past year of expansion and unprecedented growth at Wattpad, include: 

• Entertainment partnerships and development projects with eight major international studios and entertainment brands to bring Wattpad stories to screens around the world. This includes Mediaset in Italy, NL Film in the Netherlands, Lagardere Studios in France, Mediacorp in Singapore, the CBC in Canada, Huayi Bros in Korea, iflix in Indonesia, and Sony Pictures TV in the US. These deals joined Wattpad’s existing partnerships with eOne, SYFY, Bavaria Fiction, and AwesomenessTV.

• The launch of Wattpad Books, the company’s first direct publishing division that will bring Wattpad stories to bookshelves everywhere. Wattpad Books and Penguin Random House UK also announced a collaboration to bring Wattpad Books to readers in the UK.   

• The launch of Bliss Books, a new YA publishing imprint in the Philippines. The imprint is the result of a partnership between Wattpad and Anvil Publishing. 

• A major rebrand to showcase how Wattpad has grown into the most diverse community of storytellers on the planet.

• A new strategic partnership with India’s Times Bridge, the global investments and partnerships arm of The Times Group, to grow Wattpad’s presence in India and reach new users. Wattpad also hired its first Country Manager for India. 

• The global rollout of Wattpad Paid Stories, the company’s exclusive paid content program, which allows users to directly reward writers by purchasing stories on Wattpad

• The global rollout of Wattpad Premium - Wattpad’s ad-free subscription tier which offers readers an uninterrupted reading experience 

• The theatrical premiere of After, based on the best-selling novel and international Wattpad hit with a billion reads on the platform. The film opened at number one in 17 countries, is the top-grossing independent film of 2019. A sequel is currently in production. 

• Light as a Feather, which Wattpad produces with AwesomenessTV and Grammnet, was greenlit for a second season, now streaming on Hulu. The story originated on Wattpad from writer Zoe Aarsen. 

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Wattpad

Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. Using the power of community and technology, the global multiplatform entertainment company is unleashing the full potential of stories to the world -- in any format. Wattpad’s flagship app is the world’s leading social storytelling platform, home to a community of more than 80 million people who spend over 22 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Wattpad’s Story DNA Machine Learning technology allows the company to understand and discover stories among the more than half a billion uploads that have been written on the platform. Wattpad Studios and Wattpad Books are transforming entertainment and publishing, using data-backed insights to turn Wattpad stories into books, films, TV shows, and digital projects. Wattpad Brand Partnerships offers a full suite of advertising products to help brands build deep engagement with Millennial and Gen Z consumers. Tap by Wattpad, the company’s second storytelling product, offers immersive interactive entertainment experiences in over a dozen languages. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at: company.wattpad.com