Judge Dismisses 2 Claims in Warner Bros. Discovery ‘South Park’ Lawsuit Against Paramount

The court battle between Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery over “South Park” is back in the spotlight this week. There was good news and bad news for both corporations in the case, as the judge presiding made rulings on two of the claims brought forth by WBD in the original suit.

• WBD will see two of its claims in its lawsuit against Paramount dismissed, while other claims can move forward.
• WBD alleges that Paramount is improperly holding back “South Park” content owed to it under terms of the deal, and that it is improperly showing “South Park” on its streamer Paramount+.
• Paramount countersued WBD in April for unpaid licensing fees, but that suit was dismissed in October.

What Did Judge Rule in WBD-Paramount Lawsuit This Week?

Judge Margaret Chan of the New York state Supreme Court ruled this week that two of WBD’s claims against Paramount cannot move forward. Specifically, Judge Chan said that Paramount’s airing of “South Park” specials on Paramount+ did not violate New York state law, nor did it cause undue harm to the public by confusing them as to where “South Park” is available to stream. She also said WBD failed to provide proof of “deceptive practices” by Paramount in that regard.

Other claims by WBD can move forward, however. Its allegations of breach of contract, tortious interference and unjust enrichment are all still on the table, and Judge Chan has set a preliminary conference date of Dec. 13 to hear more about the case.

What is at the Root of WBD’s Lawsuit Against Paramount?

WBD first filed suit against Paramount in February, saying that it had breached a contract between the two sides that stipulated the entire back catalog of “South Park” TV episodes, as well as 30 new episodes comprising Seasons 24 through 26 of the show would be exclusively available to stream on Max for the duration of the deal.

Paramount then violated the agreement by producing “specials,” “movies” and other such non-episodes to get around its contract with WBD and still air “South Park” content on Paramount+, WBD claims. Essentially, WBD thinks it has the rights to stream “South Park” more or less exclusively, and Paramount is trying to use trickery and split hairs grammatically by calling the content that it airs “specials” instead of “episodes.”

Paramount countersued WBD in April, saying that it had not been paid licensing fees owed to it by WBD under the terms of the deal. But Judge Chan dismissed that countersuit, though she did rule that Paramount did not make false statements about specials in its 2019 deal with WBD.

For now, the suit has not affected where users can stream “South Park” content. Specials like the latest “South Park: Joining the Pandaverse” are on Paramount+, while Seasons 1-26 of the series are available to stream exclusively on Max.