Massive Streaming Shake-Up: South Park Leaves HBO Max for Paramount+
What’s the price tag for keeping one of TV’s rowdiest animated shows on a single streaming platform? Apparently, $1.5 billion. That’s the jaw-dropping sum Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the brains behind South Park, just secured in a groundbreaking five-year deal with Paramount Global. With this move, all 26 seasons—plus 50 entirely new episodes arriving over the next five years—are heading exclusively to Paramount+ in the United States. For the first time, fans will need Paramount+ to binge every vulgar, satirical moment, while HBO Max loses rights to one of its major animated draws.
This deal means Paramount will pay $300 million a year for global streaming rights. It also wraps up a string of messy disputes over where and when new episodes could be shown, which had quietly soured the relationship between the show’s creators and the streaming giants. Both sides had plenty of incentive to bury the hatchet: South Park’s popularity is a goldmine, and Paramount couldn’t risk letting another platform take the crown just before the show's much-publicized return this summer.
Comic-Con Pressure and Satire That Stays Sharp
The timing of the deal wasn’t accidental. With Season 27 set to premiere on Comedy Central July 24 and Parker & Stone slated for a big appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, Paramount execs wanted everything squared away. No last-minute drama. No awkward questions. Just the creators, front and center, able to focus on the show itself rather than legal headaches.
South Park’s staying power boils down to its fearless political and cultural takedowns, and this new deal doesn’t water down that edge one bit. The season 27 premiere is already making waves for its caricature of Donald Trump—depicting him in a scene crawling into bed with Satan. It’s the kind of irreverence fans expect and love, and it shows Parker and Stone’s willingness to tackle hot-button topics, even after more than two decades on the air.
The new streaming deal is especially interesting because it runs parallel to another set of negotiations between Park County—the creative team’s production company—and Comedy Central. That contract, which covers the ongoing production of new seasons for cable, is being renegotiated as well, with Parker and Stone reportedly seeking even higher terms after a prior $900 million deal.
Behind these headline numbers and complex contracts, though, is the real story: South Park isn’t just surviving the age of streaming wars. Thanks to Parker and Stone’s tireless (and often breakneck) schedule, plus their knack for catching the mood of the moment, it’s dominating.
- Jul, 24 2025
- Cassius Montgomery
- 0 Comments
- View posts
- permalink
Write a comment