‘South Park' Removed From Paramount+ Outside the U.S.
Sources have confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Paramount+'s license to stream the series internationally has expired, noting the streaming platform is in continued negotiations and hopes to have the series back up soon for all subscribers. International fans of the long-running animated series can still stream South Park specials on Paramount+ and watch the show on Comedy Central, however.
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The news of the expired international license comes just days after it was announced that the season 27 premiere of South Park has been pushed back two weeks to July 23 from its original date of July 9 amid a streaming rights battle between the show's creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Comedy Central's parent company Paramount Global.
A tweet posted to South Park's official X profile following the July 2 announcement read: 'In response to the press release from Comedy Central about the change in premiere date for South Park Trey Parker & Matt Stone said — 'This merger is a shitshow and it's fucking up South Park. We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow.'
As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter last month, Parker and Stone threatened legal action against Paramount, accusing incoming president Jeff Shell of interfering with their contract negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Netflix. Shell, currently chairman of sports and media at Redbird Capital Partners, is set to take the reins once the merger between David Ellison's Skydance and Paramount Global is complete. The deal, originally set to close on July 6, is currently awaiting Federal Communications Commission approval to transfer Paramount's broadcast licenses to Skydance. On Monday, representatives for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and its Hollywood Local 399 and the Center for American Rights met with the FCC to discuss concessions and emphasize their 'commitment to explaining and applauding a final license package that protects the interests of workers, consumers, and investors.'
Paramount currently has two years left on its $900 million deal for the digital rights to South Park. In the June 21 letter written by an attorney for Parker and Stone's entertainment company Park County, Shell is said to have asked potential bidders to modify certain terms of their offers in a 'manner calculated to benefit Paramount at the expense' of the company, specifically pointing to Shell urging WBD to give Paramount+ an exclusive 12-month window for new episodes of the show and to shorten the term of the deal from 10 to five years.
'We hereby demand that you, Redbird, and Skydance immediately cease your interference,' the letter reads. 'If these activities continue, we will have no choice but to act to both protect our rights and discharge any obligations we may have to the public.'
In response, a spokesperson for Skydance released a statement which read, 'Under the terms of the transaction agreement, Skydance has the right to approve material contracts.'
South Park first debuted on Comedy Central on Aug. 13, 1997. The season 26 finale episode 'Spring Break' aired on Mar. 29, 2023, with three specials following between October 2023 and May 2024.
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