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2 days ago
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Popular Adult Cartoon Pulled From Streaming Service
Fans left confused as all 26 seasons of South Park are pulled from streaming South Park has vanished from Paramount+, and fans are scrambling to figure out what just happened and what it means for the future of one of TV's most iconic animated series. As of this weekend, all 26 seasons of the main series have been pulled from the streaming platform, leaving behind only a few stand-alone specials like The End of Obesity and The 25th Anniversary Concert. At first, some assumed this was a glitch or a region-specific licensing hiccup. But by Sunday, U.S. users confirmed it wasn't just an overseas issue; South Park was gone for everyone. The removal comes at a tense moment for the show and its relationship with Paramount Global. Series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been openly frustrated with the company's handling of the franchise, especially in light of Paramount's ongoing merger with Skydance. That merger appears to be generating chaos behind the curtain, with ripple effects now reaching the flagship show. In typical South Park fashion, Parker and Stone didn't hold back. From the show's official X (Twitter) account, they bluntly called the situation a 'sh–show' and said the merger is 'f—–g up South Park.' According to them, they're still in the studio, still making episodes, but unsure how—or where—fans will be able to see them. There's a lot of money at stake here, too. Paramount still holds a $900 million digital rights deal with the South Park creators, and yet somehow, the show has disappeared from their own platform. The Hollywood Reporter recently noted that legal threats have already been made, with Parker and Stone accusing Paramount execs, specifically incoming president Jeff Shell, of meddling in negotiations that were meant to secure wider distribution. For now, the only confirmed place to stream all seasons of South Park is HBO Max, which holds its own share of the streaming rights in what's turned into one of the most tangled licensing deals in modern TV history. Meanwhile, Season 27 is still scheduled to premiere July 23 on Comedy Central, though even that comes after an unexplained delay earlier this month. Streaming rights battles aren't new, but what's happening here is more than friction. It's a creative tension, legal brinkmanship, and corporate reorganization all colliding at once. And for a show that's spent 25 years satirizing exactly this kind of chaos, the irony isn't lost on anyone. Fans might get more South Park soon, but where and when is anyone's guess. Read the original article on GEEKSPIN. Affiliate links on GEEKSPIN may earn us and our partners a commission. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
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Inside the $3 Billion ‘South Park' Fight That May Blow Up Its Future
The premiere for the 27th season of South Park later this month is in serious doubt amid wrangling between series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Paramount Global and incoming studio owner Skydance, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. At the heart of the dispute: a new 10-year, $3 billion overall deal for Parker and Stone that would more than triple the valuation of the current deal that expires in 2027, according to people familiar with the situation. Park County, the South Park pair's entertainment company, believes it struck a basic framework with Paramount Global on an agreement. 'I think that Paramount pre-acquisition was interested in a broader range of possibilities than would have been approved by Skydance and Redbird,' an insider close to the negotiations says. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'South Park' Global Fans Furious as Show Pulled From Paramount+ Amid Licensing Dispute 'South Park' Removed From Paramount+ Outside the U.S. What Will It Take to Get the Paramount-Skydance Deal Done? But Skydance, which maintains that it has approval rights on contracts as it pursues regulatory approval of its merger with Paramount, has other plans. The duration of the proposed deal has emerged as a sticking point in negotiations, with Skydance refusing to an extension beyond five additional years amid a fast-moving media environment in which it's prioritizing cash reserves. 'There is no resolution at this time, but all involved recognize the need for a quick, positive resolution,' a spokesperson for Park County said on Monday. Skydance and Paramount declined to comment. A Skydance rep had previously told THR that 'under the terms of the transaction agreement, Skydance has the right to approve material contracts.' It's increasingly likely that the dispute ends up in court. Parker and Stone have brought on Bryan Freedman, a prominent lawyer and bulldog negotiator known for aggressive legal maneuvering, to tee up what could be a lawsuit accusing the Skydance regime — including CEO David Ellison and Jeff Shell, the RedBird Capital executive who'll be the president of new Paramount if the merger is greenlit — of interfering in contract negotiations. The alternative involves a public relations battle in which Skydance could see its name splashed across headlines as an another example of an entertainment merger gone sour. The potential delay to the season 27 premiere, which has already been pushed back two weeks later than originally planned to July 23, has surfaced as the most visible example of the damage caused by the delay to approval of the Paramount-Skydance merger. The relationship between Parker and Stone, among the most sought-after creative duos in Hollywood, and Skydance is in question, as is the future of the show after more than 28 years and 300 episodes. '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,'' Parker and Stone wrote in a social media post on July 2. South Park is owned by Paramount, with streaming rights owned through a joint venture Parker and Stone operate with the company called South Park Digital Studios, which is governed by a five-member board of managers that includes Paramount affiliate Comedy Partners. The series is produced by Park County. Park County has an extraordinarily unusual deal, dating back to 2007, that gives the company about 50 percent of streaming revenue through the joint venture. South Park was a juggernaut on linear TV and on DVD when streaming video was still nascent. Park County began streaming episodes on a dedicated website with advertising support, though later premium subscription services like Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and, of course, Paramount+, would change how streaming videos were monetized dramatically. Streaming deals for the show expired on June 23, forcing an extension of a domestic deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to keep it on HBO Max for now. Last week, Paramount+'s international license to stream episodes of the long-running animated series expired, which led to the streamer pulling the series from its global service. Paramount and Park County are both taking a hard-line stance in negotiations. When they resumed discussions recently, Kevin Morris, a lawyer for Park County, refused to budge from a decade-long deal worth at least $3 billion. In recent years, Morris became a nationally known figure for his years-long legal and financial support for Hunter Biden. Paramount's Chris McCarthy, who runs the company with two other co-CEOs, oversees the streaming and television programming side of the studio and COO Keyes Hill-Edgar negotiates on deals. The Paramount-Skydance deal has been held up in large part due to its own political dimension involving President Donald Trump and a lawsuit against 60 Minutes over an interview with Kamala Harris. One possible factor in the negotiations: an $800 million loan that Park County took in 2023 from private equity firm the Carlyle Group. Parker and Stone could be squeezed for cash to repay roughly $80 million in interest per year, according to one person knowledgeable of the arrangement, who noted that Paramount may be open to paying more than $150 million annually in a new deal but not for 10 years. By Skydance's thinking, the interim operating agreement affords the company the right to approve — and deny — all material contracts. Park County has maintained that Skydance is barred from taking control and issuing directives until the merger's official closure. A legal battle is brewing. 'We hereby demand that you, Redbird, and Skydance immediately cease your interference,' stated the letter Park County sent to Shell on June 21. '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.' July 14, 8:18 p.m. Updated to characterize the new 10-year, $3 billion overall deal as more than tripling the valuation of the previous deal. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
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5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why ‘South Park' has vanished from streaming sites, explained
For weeks, there have been rumblings online about an ongoing dispute related to South Park's streaming rights, most notably resulting in the two-week delay of Season 27 and a public statement from creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. But last week, the issue grew to a global scale as South Park became completely unavailable to stream outside the U.S. A source told The Hollywood Reporter that Paramount's international license for the four-time Emmy-winning show expired, but that negotiations to restore the series to Paramount+ were ongoing. More from Gold Derby 'The Young and the Restless' leads Daytime Emmy predictions for Best Drama Series 'Adolescence,' 'The Penguin,' 'Disclaimer,' and more last-minute Emmy nominations predictions for Best Limited/Movie Directing So what is going on? Here's everything you need to know about the drama behind South Park's streaming issues. Last week, the main series of South Park that airs on Comedy Central disappeared from Paramount+ for all territories outside the U.S. The seven specials made specifically for the platform, however, remain available. The reason for the vanishing act is part of a larger drama playing out behind the scenes of the series with the parent comedy of Comedy Central, Paramount. With the licensing deal on the show set to expire in two years, Parker and Stone have been meeting with other media companies, shopping around the rights for South Park at places like Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix. According to a legal letter acquired by The Hollywood Reporter, a lawyer representing the show creators accused Paramount's next potential president of attempting to alter the terms of these potential deals behind their backs in a way that would benefit the corporation in the midst of a merger. The conflict seemed to lead directly into the two-week delay of Season 27, which was supposed to have premiered on July 9, but is now scheduled for July 23. Once the new season was officially delayed, the creators issued a statement via the South Park's social media accounts, directly blaming the merger on the lack of new South Park. The removal of South Park from Paramount+ in international territories is just the latest development in the still-unresolved dispute. A source told THR that global access to the show would hopefully be restored soon, but with a timeline uncertain, fans are likely watching the potential premiere date of July 23 to see how this all plays out. Best of Gold Derby Everything to know about 'The Pitt' Season 2, including the departure of Tracy Ifeachor's Dr. Collins Everything to know about 'Too Much,' Lena Dunham's Netflix TV show starring Megan Stalter that's kinda, sorta 'based on a true story' Cristin Milioti, Amanda Seyfried, Michelle Williams, and the best of our Emmy Limited Series/Movie Actress interviews Click here to read the full article.
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5 days ago
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‘South Park' Removed From Paramount+ Outside the U.S.
Streamers outside of the U.S. can no longer access South Park on Paramount+. 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. More from The Hollywood Reporter What Will It Take to Get the Paramount-Skydance Deal Done? Arcade Workers at 'South Park' Creators' Casa Bonita Restaurant Unionize Ex-'60 Minutes' Correspondent Steve Kroft Calls $16M Trump Settlement a "Shakedown" 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. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Harvey Weinstein's "Jane Doe 1" Victim Reveals Identity: "I'm Tired of Hiding" 'Awards Chatter' Podcast: 'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Finally Reveals What Happened to Tony (Exclusive)
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5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘South Park' Global Fans Furious as Show Pulled From Paramount+ Amid Licensing Dispute
International fans of Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny were left reeling last week after South Park was pulled off streaming service Paramount+ amid an ongoing licensing dispute between the show's creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Comedy Central's parent company, Paramount Global. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Paramount+'s international license to stream episodes of the long-running animated series has expired, forcing the streamer to pull the show off its global service. Outside the U.S., Paramount+ is available in the English-speaking territories of Canada, Australia, the U.K. and Ireland; in France, Italy and German-speaking Europe; in Japan, and across Latin America. More from The Hollywood Reporter Kanye "Ye" West Struggles Through Chaotic, Rain-Soaked Shanghai Concert 'Superman' Star Nicholas Hoult Takes on New Role as Save the Children Ambassador 'Better Go Mad in the Wild,' 'Bidad,' 'Sand City,' 'Forensics' Win Karlovy Vary Festival Awards Threads on the South Park subreddit and social media have lit up with foul-mouthed complaints from international fans, most of them directed at Paramount and David Ellison's Skydance Media, whose $8 billion buyout of Paramount is at the heart of the South Park dispute. 'wtf. 100 % cancelling my subscription now,' noted user @emale27. 'The only reason I had Paramount+ was to watch South Park. I just canceled,' concurred @jaywinner. 'How does one go about setting Paramount on fire?'' asked @Acceptable-Bid-1019, prompting another user, @probably420stoned to quip: 'They've basically just done this themselves.' Amid threats to cancel their Paramount+ subscriptions, devotees of the long-running animated series from Canada, Australia, France, Germany and elsewhere traded tips on how to watch the show, legally or otherwise, from their respective territories. Paramount+ still has the rights to stream South Park specials internationally. South Park remains on the air on Paramount's Comedy Central channels worldwide, whose footprint spans most of Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia/New Zealand. Paramount's ad-supported streaming service also carries the show in several territories, including Canada, Latin America and select European countries. Back episodes are available for purchase on other services, including Apple TV and Amazon Prime. In some territories, including Germany and the Latin American region, back episodes are available to stream, ad-supported, on a stand-alone South Park website. That fragmented global access was not what Paramount had in mind ahead of the season 27 premiere of South Park, which is set to bow on Comedy Central in the U.S. and internationally on July 23, two weeks later than originally planned. Sources close to Paramount told THR the studio remains in negotiations and hopes to have the show back on Paramount+ soon. Talks over a new South Park streaming deal, to replace its now-expired five-year pact with Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max, have stalled amid Paramount's protracted sale to Skydance. As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter 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 interfering with their contract negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Netflix to modify certain terms 'to benefit Paramount at the expense' of Park County. It pointed to Shell pushing WBD to give Paramount+ an exclusive 12-month window for new episodes of the show and to shorten the term of the licensing deal from 10 to five years. A representative for Skydance released a statement dismissing the allegations. '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 left on its $900 million licensing deal for South Park but without unified international streaming rights, many global fans of the potty-mouthed kids from Colorado will remain frustrated. But that doesn't mean they've lost their sense of humor. 'The silver lining of all this merger crap,' noted @Kalse1229 on the South Park subreddit, 'is that it's gonna make for an excellent South Park takedown.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
