This Friday, February 24, Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit against Paramount Global for breach of contractual duties around the animated series. South Park.
In October 2019, both conglomerates signed a $500 million dollar deal. It granted the then WarnerMedia exclusive rights to streaming about old and new episodes of the irreverent Comedy Central show. Let’s remember that those were times when Warner was preparing the ground for the eventual launch of its digital platform HBO Max.
However, through the lawsuit that was recently filed in the New York Supreme Court, the accusing party maintains that Paramount did not respect certain guarantees and that it even incurred in “multiple and flagrant distortions” of the contract (via Variety) to cunningly not grant you the rights to some content related to South Park.
Warner signed that contract three years ago, having been assured that the popular series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone would have three new seasons – 24, 25 and 26 – of ten episodes each. However, the first of them only had two episodes; the second, only with six, and it is expected that the next one will also consist of six episodes nothing more.
“The lawsuit alleges that new episodes are far more valuable than old ones and that HBO Max therefore paid an excessive price for the library,” the report reads. Variety.
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It also highlights the problem around the last specials of South Park. Paramount Plus was the platform for streaming in charge of premiering the two installments of South Park: Post Covidat the end of 2021, and both parts of South Park: The Streaming Warsin mid-2022. But in the eyes of Warner and HBO Max, the launch of these four specials corresponded to them, according to the aforementioned exclusivity agreement.
However, Paramount would have used “verbal tricks” to evade responsibility. From the defendant company’s perspective, such productions were “movies”, not “episodes”; therefore, there was no reason to hand them over to the company currently led by David Zaslav.
To top it off, Paramount and its subsidiary MTV Entertainment Studios signed a $900 million deal with South Park Digital Studios in 2021 for the latter to produce 14 movies that were exclusive to Paramount Plus. According to the accusatory document, these three brands would have incurred in “illicit conspiracy” by widening an apparent gap in the contract with Warner and thus denying it exclusivity of such productions. Hence, they are being required to pay punitive damages of up to $200 million dollars.
Pursuant to the lawsuit, a Paramount spokesperson stated the following to Deadline:
We believe these claims are without merit and hope to prove it through the legal process. […] Paramount continues to comply with the delivery of new episodes of South Park to HBO Max, despite the fact that Warner Bros. Discovery has defaulted and refused to pay the licensing fees it owes Paramount for episodes that have already been delivered, and that HBO Max continues to air.”
In Latin America, everything South Park is available for streaming through Paramount Plus.
Antonio G. Spindola I have very bad memory. Out of solidarity with my memories, I choose to lose myself too. Preferably in a movie theater.