Warner Bros. Discovery sues Paramount over alleged “theft” South Park content that it claims it should have exclusive rights to streaming, as reported earlier by different. In a lawsuit filed Friday, HBO Max’s parent company admitted to working with Paramount South ParkThe creators and its MTV subsidiary to “move most of the new South Park content as much as possible” on Paramount Plus to attract viewers to the platform.
In 2019, Warner Bros. Discovery said it paid about $1.6 million for each of the more than 300 episodes that South Park Digital Studios (SPDS) — a joint venture between Paramount and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone – agreed to the license. Warner Bros. admitted. Discovery is Paramount, which also owns Comedy Central, South ParkThe long-time home of cable TV, South Park Digital Studios was “incited” to break its contract with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Most importantly “uses grammatical sleight-of-hand, describing new content as ‘movies,’ ‘films,’ or ‘events'”
The deal should bring the show’s entire library, as well as 30 upcoming new episodes for seasons 24, 25, and 26 to HBO Max through June 2025. However, Warner Bros. Discovery has -like it didn’t get what it paid for. . It claimed that South Park Digital Studios had not fulfilled its promise to deliver 10 new episodes each season and charged the company more for 50-minutes. Special Pandemic.
The case also took issue with the massive $900 million deal Paramount made with the creators of South Park in August 2021 — just a few months after the launch of Paramount Plus. As part of the deal, South Park will stream exclusively on Paramount Plus after the HBO Max contract expires.
The studio later went on to produce several Paramount Plus-exclusive specials, including South Park: Post Covid, South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covidand South Park: Part of the Streaming Wars 1 and sneezing 2, which debuts throughout 2021 and 2022. Warner Bros. has claimed. Discovery that these specials had to be included in their contract, and that South Park Studios, Paramount, and MTV “used a grammatical sleight-of-hand, describing the new content as ‘movies,’ ” film,’ or ‘events’ in derogation of SPDS’s contractual obligations.”
In a statement of different, a Paramount spokesperson said the company believes “these claims are without merit” and said Warner Bros. Discovery “has failed and refused to pay the license fees it owes Paramount for episodes that have already been delivered, and which HBO Max continues to stream.” Paramount did not immediately respond The VergeThis is a request for comment.
The lawsuit comes at an important time for Warner Bros. Discovery, which reported adding only 1.1 million subscribers to HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery Plus this past quarter, while losing another $2.1 billion. It looks clear South Park as a core part of HBO Max, as it calls the show’s “anchor” content that is “central to branding and marketing” in the lawsuit, and says the series allows streamers to “raise the subscribers and subscription fees, as well as attracting advertisers.”
Warner Bros. Discovery is suing Paramount, SPDS, and MTV for “significant monetary damages” to be determined at trial.