“South Park” was pulled from Paramount+ outside of America as the streamer’s license to stream the series internationally expired amid an ongoing streaming rights dispute between Paramount and the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, TheWrap has learned.
Several international fans recently posted on social media flagging about the show vanishing from the platform. “Unfortunately, South Park has come to an end of the window in which we have the rights to carry it on Paramount+ which is why is now has to come down from the platform,” a representative for Paramount+ told a Reddit user when asked why the series was removed.
An individual with knowledge of the negotiations reiterated the note to TheWrap, adding that conversations are ongoing secure a new deal with hopes of renewing access to the show soon. The individual also noted that “South Park” specials created specifically for Paramount+ are still available to watch outside of the U.S.
Parker and Stone’s show is currently in the middle of a complicated streaming rights dispute. In 2019, HBO Max signed a deal giving the streamer exclusive streaming access to the show in the United States. When Paramount+ was launched later in 2021, the international streaming rights to the show went to the streamer owned by Comedy Central’s parent company. But this summer the deal around the U.S. rights to “South Park” came to an end.
According to Bloomberg, Parker and Stone wanted to renegotiate their streaming rights deal and their new season orders around the same time, which is what happened to the show last time. However, Skydance — which is close to acquiring Paramount in a deal valued at $8 billion — reportedly interfered with the deal. That interference prolonged negotiations and infuriated Parker and Stone.
That’s what led to Season 27’s delay as well as the two publicly saying, “This merger is a s–tshow and it’s f–king up ‘South Park.’ We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow.”
It’s currently unknown where “South Park” really will premiere on its new premiere date of July 23 or if it will be pushed back again.
