South Park Creators Secure Billion-Dollar Streaming Deal with Paramount
The foul-mouthed kids of South Park may have just made their creators billion-dollar players in the streaming wars.
According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the Emmy and Oscar-nominated Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the longtime masterminds behind Comedy Central’s animated romp “South Park,” have reached a groundbreaking five-year deal with Paramount for the global streaming rights to their iconic animated series. Valued at $300 million per year, the agreement would total a staggering $1.5 billion, according to the newspaper.
Sources with knowledge of the situation tell Variety that a deal has indeed been reached, but didn’t have specifics. Paramount did not respond to several requests for comment, perhaps because the deal isn’t yet finalized.
The new pact comes following a recent tense standoff between Parker and Stone and Paramount. Parker and Stone have accused incoming Paramount president Jeff Shell of interfering in their contract negotiations with WBD and Netflix. Meanwhile, according to a recent Hollywood Reporter story, Paramount Global and Parker/Stone had already outlined a pact that would have spread over a decade and been valued at $3 billion. But Skydance, which is in the process of purchasing Paramount, is said to have balked at that agreement.
As this was all going on, the “South Park” Season 27 premiere was delayed by two weeks to July 23. In response, the official “South Park” X/Twitter account released a statement from Parker and Stone: ‘This merger is a shit show and it’s fucking up ‘South Park,’” the duo wrote in response to the press release from Comedy Central about the change in premiere date for “South Park.” “We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow.”
The new deal with Parker and Stone’s Park County production company would bring regular “South Park” episodes to Paramount+ in the U.S. for the first time, marking a major strategic shift for the long-running animated satirical program. Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max had previously maintained the exclusive streaming rights to the series, although Paramount+ has aired several “South Park” event specials. The HBO Max deal expired last month.
The new agreement arrives just ahead of the launch of the show’s 27th season, which airs on Comedy Central on Wednesday, July 23 and days before Parker and Stone are set to appear at San Diego Comic-Con.
While the streaming pact is the notable headline-grabber, Parker and Stone are also renegotiating an overall deal with Paramount to continue producing new episodes for Comedy Central beyond their current agreement, which runs through 2027. Their previous pact — valued at $900 million — was struck in 2021 and funded those Paramount+ made-for-streaming specials as well as the main series.
The acquisition of exclusive streaming rights to “South Park” is a major win for Paramount+, which continues to compete against giants like Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max, and also with the Skydance Acquisition lingering in the balance.
Premiering in 1997, “South Park” has evolved from a scrappy, paper-cut animation into a cultural institution, known for its no-holds-barred satire and fearless take on politics, pop culture and the absurdities of everyday life.
