South Park finds new streaming home on Paramount+ in $1.5 billion deal

The creators of the long-running satirical animated series South Park have struck a massive $1.5 billion deal to bring the show exclusively to Paramount+ for streaming.

The five-year agreement will see all 26 previous seasons of the famously foul-mouthed cartoon move to the platform, alongside the debut of 50 new episodes, starting this week.

This landmark deal follows a protracted bidding war among major streaming platforms, with Paramount+ ultimately securing the highly coveted rights. Previously, South Park was available on rival service HBO Max, and the recent contract negotiations had delayed the premiere of the show’s latest season, originally slated for July 9.

New episodes will continue to premiere on Paramount’s cable channel, Comedy Central, before becoming available on Paramount+.

The acquisition of South Park comes at a critical time for Paramount, which has recently faced public scrutiny following the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on its CBS network. Paramount cited “purely a financial decision” for the late-night show’s axing, despite its high ratings and Colbert’s sharp political commentary.

The cancellation also raised eyebrows given a recent $16 million settlement Paramount paid to President Donald Trump in a lawsuit alleging deceptive editing of an interview.

Since its debut in 1997, South Park has gained a global reputation for its unfiltered humour and willingness to tackle controversial subjects, often leading to public debate. The show’s creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are also behind the hit musical The Book of Mormon.