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\n\tEXCLUSIVE<\/strong>: Comedy Central picked a curious date for the Season 27 premiere of animated stalwart South Park<\/a><\/em> after a two-year break, July 9. That is only a few days after Paramount\u2019s $500 million unique streaming licensing cope with HBO Max<\/a> for Trey Parker and Matt Stone\u2019s juggernaut is about to run out on June 30, permitting the brand new season, together with the remainder of the South Park<\/em> library, to stream on Comedy Central\u2019s Paramount sibling Paramount+<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen the date was introduced final month<\/a>, trade observers suspected some gamesmanship since Paramount has lengthy been seeking to convey two of its crown jewels on third-party streamers, South Park <\/em>and Yellowstone<\/em>, to its Paramount+ platform and in gentle of Paramount and HBO Max\u2019s contentious partnership on South Park,<\/em> which has resulted in a lawsuit.<\/p>\n \n\tParamount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy, who oversees Comedy Central, touted the marquee streaming addition through the firm\u2019s earnings name final week.<\/p>\n \n\t \u201cAnd starting this July, [South Park<\/em>] will be coming to Paramount+ in the US,\u201d he mentioned.<\/p>\n \n\tBut, in a narrative that already has had loads of twists, there could also be one other one. While South Park<\/em> will lastly be streaming on Paramount+, the sequence received\u2019t essentially be leaving HBO Max.<\/p>\n \n\tI hear there are conversations about protecting South Park<\/em> on the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer. Sources stress that the talks are preliminary and a part of Paramount taking the sequence to market.<\/p>\n \n\tThat is a typical follow for large exhibits created underneath the normal TV mannequin as a way to keep away from self-dealing accusations \u2014 and litigation \u2014 by revenue contributors which, on this case embrace South Park<\/em> creators\/govt producers Parker and Stone.<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to sources, it’s sure that South Park<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n \n\tReps for Paramount and WBD declined remark.<\/p>\n \n\tThat has been a part of Paramount\u2019s MO for nearly all of its library sequence \u2014 and plenty of of its originals besides the Taylor Sherdan dramas \u2014 bringing in a income stream to the corporate that has been centered on enhancing its backside line.<\/p>\n \n\tThen AT&T-owned WarnerMedia landed the unique home streaming rights to all current plus new seasons of South Park<\/em> in a $300 million deal signed in 2019, earlier than the launch of Paramount+. After Paramount\u2019s streamer received up and operating, South Park<\/em> began making specials outdoors of the HBO Max settlement solely for Paramount+, triggering the 2023 lawsuit<\/a> by HBO Max\u2019s present guardian WBD towards Paramount. It continues to be pending.<\/p>\n \n\tSouth Park<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n