“South Park” Showdown 2.0: Paramount Global Strikes Back in Warner Bros Discovery Counterclaim Over $50M in Streaming Rights

They haven’t quite killed Kenny yet, but tonight Paramount Global told Warner Bros. Discovery dealt a heavy blow South Park.

In a bold answer on February 24 from the company led by David Zaslav^e A $200 million lawsuit over the Steam rights to the long-running Trey Parker and Matt Stone cartoon satire, the Sheri Redstone-led conglomerate just filed a $50 million countersuit in New York — and they’re leaving no stone unturned .

“Through this counterclaim, South Park Studios seeks to recover all unpaid royalties totaling more than $52 million based on WarnerMedia’s flagrant violations of the Term Sheet,” the answer and counterclaim document reads. “Further, based on WarnerMedia’s material breaches of contract and indications that it will withhold more than $225 million in royalties due for the remainder of the five-year term, South Park Studios is entitled to a declaratory judgment affirming the rights and obligations of the parties . under the Term Sheet,” reads the dense 59-page filing (read it here).

“Additionally, WarnerMedia has made it clear that it will not pay any of the remaining more than $225 million in royalties for the remainder of the five-year term,” the document said. “Paramount Global certainly did not agree to allow WarnerMedia to continue to ignore its contractual obligations in this manner.”

And as funny as South Park and business metabolizations can occur is clearly no laughing matter, especially as WDB prepares to launch its revamped MAX streaming service next month.

“Warner Bros. Discovery has unreasonably refused to pay more than $50 million owed for South Park content it received undisputed and continues to broadcast and operate HBO Max,” a Paramount Global spokesperson told Deadline said Wednesday after the response/counterclaim. met the case from the New York State Supreme Court.

“The Warner Bros. Argument Discovery that Paramount Global had to deliver South Park Content is baseless and not endorsed by the parties’ agreement,” added the CEO. “Furthermore, it certainly does not justify WBD’s refusal to pay for extremely valuable content, all of which have received and continue to benefit.”

WBD officials did not respond to requests for comment on the counterclaims. If and when it does, we’ll update this post.

In the meantime, let’s talk a little about recent history.

In 2019, WarnerMedia, then owned by AT&T, expanded its streaming stock with a hard-fought $500 million deal for 23 seasons past tense of South Park plus several new seasons. That roughly 300-episode deal, delivered almost immediately, was supposed to be paid in installments of about $25 million a quarter — which it was until earlier this year.

Alleging “illegal conspiracy” and “verbal fraud” on the part of parent company Comedy Central, WBD alleges that Paramount Global, Parker and Stone’s South Park Digital Studios and MTV Entertainment Studios drilled a hole in the 2021 2019 big money deal that would result in the Bob Bakish-led gang retaining linear and streaming rights for new seasons South Park and about 14 “original films” based on the sitcom.

That $900 million deal ViacomCBS made with Parker and Stone two years ago put a lot more Cartman in the pipeline, if you know what I mean?, and a whole lot more South Park come for the budding Paramount+ streamer.

Now, nothing in the 2019 deal specifies how many episodes each future South Park season may or may not have, sources tell us. For now, though, you have South Park on two separate streaming platforms, both trying to break into a very crowded market and both trying to squeeze more premium content out of tighter budgets.

Whatever is or isn’t in that much-celebrated four-year deal, expect plenty of lawyers to make big hay and big bucks — and it’ll make for a great episode of South Parkon any streamer