Warner Bros. Discovery Counter-Attacked By Paramount Over 'South Park' Streaming

Warner Bros. Discovery is seeking more than $50 million in unpaid fees from Paramount Global over the streaming rights to the cartoon.

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In nearly two months since the two media giants began their feud, Paramount filed a counterclaim.

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Warner sued Paramount in February, claiming breach of contract and seeking hundreds of millions of dollars. As Paramount+, Paramount's fledgling streaming service, launched, Warner claimed that the studio withheld specials and other "South Park" content.

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It was revealed on Wednesday that Paramount filed a countersuit, once again denying that it did not meet its contractual obligations to license "South Park" to HBO Max.

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As part of the 93-day pandemic, the "South Park" creators and staff were unable to meet regularly in order to produce episodes so they worked on features that ended up being twice the length of the typical 22-minute installments, in an attempt to compensate for that.

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Despite receiving South Park content undisputedly and which HBO Max continues to air and exploit, Warner Bros. Discovery has indefensibly refused to pay more than $50 million, a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement. A Paramount Global spokesperson said, “Warner Bros. Discovery’s claim about providing additional South Park content is false and unsubstantiated by the parties' agreement.”  The refusal by WBD to pay for the immensely valuable content it has received and from which it continues to benefit does not justify its refusal to pay for the content.

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As stated in the initial lawsuit, Warner agreed that it would pay HBO Max over $500 million, or about $1.69 million per episode, for the rights to distribute episodes of the animated series with bad-mouthed elementary school children for HBO Max in 2019. It has been over 30 years since “South Park” aired on Paramount’s cable network Comedy Central.

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A Warner filing alleges that Paramount asked Warner if Paramount+ could share the streaming rights during the bidding process for the streaming rights. Warner said that Paramount went back on its contract and withheld content during the height of the pandemic.

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“Our firm believes that Paramount and South Park Digital Studios engaged in a multi-year scheme of deception and unfair trade practices, flagrantly and repeatedly breaking the agreement, according to a Warner spokesperson, which provided HBO Max with exclusive streaming rights for the existing South Park library and new content.”

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As Warner reports, Paramount's subsidiary MTV signed an exclusive agreement with the "South Park" creators in 2021, reportedly worth $900 million, which resulted in the scheme.

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There have been indications that Warner will continue to withhold the $225 million in license fees still owed for the remainder of the five-year term, according to Paramount. Warner refused two payments of more than $26 million in licensing fees it owed in December 2022 and again in March 2023.

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According to Warner Bros., HBO Max - now rebranded as Max - continues to offer the entire library of "South Park" episodes.

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