“South Park” on Paramount + Prompts Warner Bros. Discovery Lawsuit

“South Park” airs on Comedy Central, a cable network owned by Paramount.

Warner Bros. said: Discovery has confirmed that the deal will give it exclusive broadcast rights to at least 333 episodes, which has proposed three new seasons with 10 episodes each. In the complaint, she said she received less new episodes of “South Park.” She also said that specials from “South Park” were broadcast on Paramount Channel+ and she did not receive them.

Warner Bros. said: “When Paramount decided to launch a new streaming platform of its own, its priorities changed dramatically,” Discover complained about Paramount+, which launched in 2021. On account of Warner/HBO”.

Warner Bros. said: Discovery wants South Park to attract new, younger subscribers to HBO Max. She argued in the lawsuit that Paramount tried to use “South Park” to boost its streaming service, causing HBO Max to lose subscribers. The company did not say how much money it was seeking in the suit, but said it had more than $200 million in damages.

A spokeswoman for HBO Max reiterated allegations made in the lawsuit, including that Paramount breached its contract.

A Paramount spokeswoman said the allegations were baseless, and the company would prove it through the legal process.

Owning the rights to popular shows can help broadcasters differentiate themselves from the competition and attract more viewers. Media companies have terminated licensing agreements to bring popular shows to their streaming services. Netflix a company ,

For example, it lost the broadcast rights to “The Office” in 2021, so Comcast a company

A new service, Peacock, can stream comedy.

Paramount Global, formerly ViacomCBS Inc. , a six-year deal in 2021 with “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone for 14 “South Park” movies for Paramount+, plus six new seasons of the TV show on Comedy Central. The newspaper reported that the company paid Messrs. Stone and Parker $900 million in the deal.

“South Park,” which first aired on Comedy Central in 1997, follows four troubled boys in a small town. The show won four Emmy Awards, and turned cartoon characters Cartman and Kenny into household names.

Write to Joseph Pisani at [email protected]