‘South Park’ yanked from Paramount+ internationally
‘South Park’ yanked from Paramount+ internationally
The news is just the latest twist in the saga of the animated comedy, which is mired in legal turmoil.
If you thought the storylines on screen in “South Park” were full of drama, wait until you hear what’s happening behind the scenes. The TV series has been stuck in a legal tug-of-war between Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery over streaming rights for years, and in the latest development surrounding the series, “South Park” has been removed from Paramount+ in international markets while the long-running animated show’s latest season has been pushed back on Comedy Central.
Key Details:
- Coming back soon?: Paramount is continuing to negotiate for the international streaming rights to the show.
- Domestic troubles, too: Streaming rights for “South Park” recently expired in the U.S. as well.
- Merger woes: “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been vocal in their denunciations of the Paramount Global merger.
Paramount+’s license to stream “South Park” outside of the United States has expired, which caused the show to be pulled from its catalog. Paramount Global is continuing to negotiate for the rights to the series, but “South Park” is unwilling to let it stream on the platform while talks proceed. While that is a clear sign that the relationship between the show’s creators and owners has fractured — Paramount Global owns Comedy Central, which airs the show — the same cannot be said for all of the relationships with the cartoon’s distributors.
The show’s domestic streaming rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery has also recently lapsed, but the show remains on HBO Max. The producers and creators of “South Park” have opted to allow the show to continue streaming on the platform while negotiations for a new streaming deal proceed; presumably, a sign of goodwill and good faith between the sides.
The removal comes as a lawsuit over streaming rights to the show goes ahead between Paramount and WBD. Warner alleges that Paramount skirted contractual obligations by ordering what it calls “specials” to stream on Paramount+ while HBO Max was supposed to have exclusive streaming rights to new seasons of the show.
The messy merger of Paramount Global with Skydance Media has disrupted things for “South Park” as well. Season 27 of “South Park” was originally due to be released on July 9, but that date was pushed to July 23, causing the show’s creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to post on social media that the merger was a “sh*tshow” that was causing material harm to the series.
Parker and Stone have threatened legal action against Paramount’s new owners and have engaged in negotiations with both HBO Max and Netflix regarding the domestic streaming rights to the show. The whole saga is beginning to look a bit like a “South Park” episode, and it doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and more. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.
Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.