Warner Bros. Discovery sues Paramount over South Park broadcast brawl

Warner Bros. Discovery sues Paramount for alleged ‘stealing’ South Park content material it claims ought to have unique streaming rights, As previously reported by Variation. Inside The lawsuit was filed on Friday.HBO Max’s mum or dad firm claims Paramount is working collectively South Parkcreators and its MTV subsidiary, “new South Park “as a lot content material as doable” to Paramount Plus to attract viewers to the platform.

In 2019, Warner Bros. Discovery says he paid about $1.6 million For every of the greater than 300 episodes of South Park Digital Studios (SPDS), a three way partnership with Paramount South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone—agreed to license. Warner Bros. Paramount, which additionally owns Discovery, Comedy Central, South Park‘s long-term presence on cable TV has led South Park Digital Studios to Warner Bros. He “inspired” to violate this contract with Discovery.

The deal was presupposed to deliver the complete library of the sequence, in addition to the subsequent 30 new episodes for seasons 24, 25, and 26, to HBO Max by June 2025. Nevertheless, Warner Bros. Discovery claims it did not get what it paid for. It claims that South Park Digital Studios did not ship on its promise to supply 10 new episodes for every season and charged the corporate an additional 50 minutes. Pandemic Particular.

The case additionally addresses the problem $900 million giant deal Made with the creators of Paramount South Park In August 2021 – simply months after the launch of Paramount Plus. As a part of the settlement, South Park It can solely air on Paramount Plus after its contract with HBO Max expires.

The studio then went on to create a number of Paramount Plus unique specials, together with: South Park: Submit-Covid, South Park: Submit-Covid: The Return of CovidAnd South Park: Broadcast Wars Division one And Piece 2 debuted all through 2021 and 2022. Warner Bros. Discovery claims these specials ought to be included of their contracts, and that South Park Studios, Paramount, and MTV “use grammatical sleight of hand by characterizing new content material as ‘motion pictures’, ‘motion pictures’, or ‘occasions’, excluding SPDS’ contractual obligations. to take away.

in a press release VariationA Paramount spokesperson stated the corporate believes “these allegations are unfounded,” and Warner Bros. Paramount didn’t instantly reply. Borderremark request.

Warner Bros., which reported including simply 1.1 million subscribers on HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery Plus final quarter and dropping one other $2.1 billion, the lawsuit filed. It has come at a vital time for Discovery. It appears clear South Park As a core element of HBO Max, he calls present content material “connecting”, which is “central to branding and advertising” within the lawsuit, and says proudly owning the sequence allows broadcasters to “improve subscribers and subscription charges, in addition to entice advertisers.” ”

Warner Bros. Discovery is suing Paramount, SPDS, and MTV for “vital financial damages” to be decided at trial.