Last week, international aficionados of Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny were left reeling as the animated hit "South Park" vanished from the streaming service Paramount+ amidst a lingering licensing spat between the show's creative minds, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Paramount Global, the parent company of Comedy Central. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to break the news: Paramount+'s international license to stream episodes of the long-running series had expired, compelling the streamer to yank the show from its global platform. Outside the United States, Paramount+'s reach extends to English-speaking territories such as Canada, Australia, the UK, and Ireland; France, Italy, and German-speaking Europe; Japan; and Latin America.
The "South Park" subreddit and social media platforms erupted with colorful complaints from international fans, with the majority of the ire directed at Paramount and David Ellison's Skydance Media. The $8 billion buyout of Paramount by Skydance stands at the heart of the "South Park" controversy.
User @emale27 lamented, "wtf. 100% cancelling my subscription now." @jaywinner echoed the sentiment, "The only reason I had Paramount+ was to watch South Park. I just canceled." @Acceptable-Bid-1019 asked rhetorically, "How does one go about setting Paramount on fire?" Prompting @probably420stoned to quip, "They’ve basically just done this themselves."
As threats to unsubscribe from Paramount+ mounted, avid followers of the long-running animated series from Canada, Australia, France, Germany, and beyond exchanged tips on how to watch the show, legally or otherwise, from their respective corners of the globe.
Despite this, Paramount+ still retains the rights to stream "South Park" specials internationally. The series continues to air on Comedy Central channels worldwide, covering most of Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Australia/New Zealand. Paramount's ad-supported streaming service, Pluto.TV, also broadcasts the show in several territories, including Canada, Latin America, and select European countries. Past episodes are available for purchase on other platforms, such as Apple TV and Amazon Prime. In certain regions, including Germany and Latin America, past episodes can be streamed, with ads, on a dedicated "South Park" website.
This fragmented global access was far from Paramount's vision ahead of the season 27 premiere of "South Park," which is slated to debut on Comedy Central in the US and internationally two weeks later than originally planned, on July 23.
Sources close to Paramount told THR that the studio is still in negotiations and hopes to soon restore the show to Paramount+. Negotiations for a new streaming deal to replace the expired five-year pact with Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max have hit a snag amid the prolonged sale of Paramount to Skydance.
As reported by THR last month, Parker and Stone, through their Park County business entity, threatened legal action against Paramount. Park County accuses incoming president Jeff Shell, currently chairman of sports and media at Skydance investor Redbird Capital Partners, of meddling in their contract negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Netflix to alter certain terms "to benefit Paramount at the expense" of Park County. It alleges that Shell pressured WBD to grant Paramount+ an exclusive 12-month window for new episodes of the show and to shorten the licensing deal term from 10 to five years.
A Skydance representative issued a statement dismissing the claims. "Any accusation that Jeff Shell tried to lower the price or devalue the franchise in any way is not only nonsensical but patently false," the statement reads. "Under the terms of the transaction agreement, Skydance has the right to approve material contracts."
Paramount has two years remaining on its $900 million licensing deal for "South Park," but without consolidated international streaming rights, many global fans of the potty-mouthed Colorado kids will continue to feel frustrated.
That said, their sense of humor remains intact. "The silver lining of all this merger nonsense," noted @Kalse1229 on the "South Park" subreddit, "is that it's gonna make for an excellent 'South Park' takedown."
