‘South Park’ creators score reported $900 million deal with ViacomCBS
By Frank Pallotta, CNN Business
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the co-creators behind the long-running animated series “South Park,” have signed a new deal with ViacomCBS that will keep the cursing children of Colorado on Comedy Central through 2027.
The deal extends the adventures of Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman through a 30th season. However, the more notable news may be what it means to ViacomCBS’ streaming endeavors.
The company also announced Thursday that the new deal will bring 14 original “South Park” films to ViacomCBS’ newly rebranded streaming service, Paramount+. Two of those films will debut in 2021.
The company did not disclose the financial details of the deal, but Bloomberg reported that the agreement comes with a massive price tag of $900 million.
“Comedy Central has been our home for 25 years and we’re really happy that they’ve made a commitment to us for the next 75 years,” Parker and Stone said in a statement.
“South Park,” which launched in 1997, is one of ViacomCBS’ most striking franchises.
The series, which satirizes culture via the profane world of its young main characters, has always been a firebrand. Its take-no-prisoners approach has earned it a loyal audience and many awards over its long run.
As Paramount+ rebrands from CBS All Access, the platform’s focus has been on the offerings it has under its corporate umbrella. That includes what it calls a “mountain of entertainment” of more than 30,000 episodes and movies from Paramount Pictures, CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET and MTV. The service also has live programming such as sports and news — a rarity in the streaming world.
“South Park” is an important extension of that strategy.
The series (alongside “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”) helped build Comedy Central into a cable stalwart over the past two decades, so it makes sense that ViacomCBS would now use it to beef up its streaming efforts — a focus that has become vitally important to media companies all over Hollywood.
ViacomCBS announced in its second quarter earnings report Thursday that it now has 42 million global subscribers between Paramount+ and its Showtime streaming service. The company also said that streaming revenue is up 92% from the year prior quarter.
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