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EXCLUSIVE: Comedy Central picked a curious date for the Season 27 premiere of animated stalwart South Park after a two-year break, July 9. That is only a few days after Paramount’s $500 million unique streaming licensing cope with HBO Max for Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s juggernaut is about to run out on June 30, permitting the brand new season, together with the remainder of the South Park library, to stream on Comedy Central’s Paramount sibling Paramount+.
When the date was introduced final month, trade observers suspected some gamesmanship since Paramount has lengthy been seeking to convey two of its crown jewels on third-party streamers, South Park and Yellowstone, to its Paramount+ platform and in gentle of Paramount and HBO Max’s contentious partnership on South Park, which has resulted in a lawsuit.
Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy, who oversees Comedy Central, touted the marquee streaming addition through the firm’s earnings name final week.
“And starting this July, [South Park] will be coming to Paramount+ in the US,” he mentioned.
But, in a narrative that already has had loads of twists, there could also be one other one. While South Park will lastly be streaming on Paramount+, the sequence received’t essentially be leaving HBO Max.
I hear there are conversations about protecting South Park on the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer. Sources stress that the talks are preliminary and a part of Paramount taking the sequence to market.
That is a typical follow for large exhibits created underneath the normal TV mannequin as a way to keep away from self-dealing accusations — and litigation — by revenue contributors which, on this case embrace South Park creators/govt producers Parker and Stone.
According to sources, it’s sure that South Park will probably be on Paramount+ beginning July 1, however it’s unsure whether or not the streamer could have it solely. Sharing the sequence on a non-exclusive foundation with one other platform, like HBO Max, is an actual risk, I hear.
Reps for Paramount and WBD declined remark.
That has been a part of Paramount’s MO for nearly all of its library sequence — and plenty of of its originals besides the Taylor Sherdan dramas — bringing in a income stream to the corporate that has been centered on enhancing its backside line.
Then AT&T-owned WarnerMedia landed the unique home streaming rights to all current plus new seasons of South Park in a $300 million deal signed in 2019, earlier than the launch of Paramount+. After Paramount’s streamer received up and operating, South Park began making specials outdoors of the HBO Max settlement solely for Paramount+, triggering the 2023 lawsuit by HBO Max’s present guardian WBD towards Paramount. It continues to be pending.
South Park revolves round 4 boys, Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny. Season 26, which featured six episodes, premiered on Comedy Central in February 2023 and ran via March. There have been three specials, written and directed by Parker, that debuted between October 2023 and March 2024.
Parker and Trey signed a cope with Comedy Central in 2021, reportedly for round $900M, to increase South Park via Season 30, operating via 2027.