Warner Bros. Discovery sues Paramount over 'South Park' streaming rights

Warner Bros. Discovery sued Paramount Global looking to enforce the streaming rights of "South Park," mounting the signifier for a ineligible conflict betwixt 2 media behemoths arsenic the streaming wars intensify.

On Friday Warner Bros. Discovery filed a suit against Paramount, South Park Digital Studios and MTV Entertainment seeking hundreds of millions of dollars for what it believes was a breach of contract.

Warner said it agreed successful 2019 to wage much than $500 million, oregon astir $1.69 cardinal per episode, to licence "South Park," the longstanding cartoon featuring bad-mouthed simple schoolhouse children that has been airing connected Paramount's cable-TV web Comedy Central for decades, for its ain streaming level HBO Max.

During the bidding process for the "South Park" rights, the filing said, Paramount allegedly asked whether Warner Bros. Discovery would see sharing the rights to the amusement for Paramount's ain streaming service.

"Warner/HBO rejected the proposition arsenic a 'non-starter,'" according to the lawsuit.

However, Warner alleged successful its suit that Paramount went backmost connected its declaration and withheld "South Park" specials and different related content. The suit points to Paramount's ain fledgling streaming service, Paramount+, arsenic the reason.

A Paramount spokesperson denied the claims made by Warner successful Friday's lawsuit, adding that Warner has stopped paying licensing fees.

"We judge these claims are without merit and look guardant to demonstrating truthful done the ineligible process," a Paramount spokesperson said successful a statement. "We besides enactment that Paramount continues to adhere to the parties' declaration by delivering caller South Park episodes to HBO Max, contempt the information that Warner Bros. Discovery has failed and refused to wage licence fees that it owes to Paramount for episodes that person already been delivered, and which HBO Max continues to stream."

Although the statement called for HBO Max to person the archetypal episodes of the latest play of "South Park" successful 2020, Paramount said it notified Warner successful March that it would halt accumulation of the play arsenic a effect of the pandemic

Warner past claims that "South Park" and its creators moved guardant with the accumulation of different types of content, specified arsenic 2 pandemic-themed specials that aired betwixt September 2020 and March 2021.

Warner further alleges the strategy was successful the works erstwhile Paramount's subsidiary MTV signed a woody with the "South Park" creators successful 2021, which called for exclusive contented for Paramount+, reportedly worthy $900 million.

"We judge that Paramount and South Park Digital Studios embarked connected a multi-year strategy of unfair commercialized practices and deception, flagrantly and repeatedly breaching our contract, which intelligibly gave HBO Max exclusive streaming rights to the existing room and caller contented from the fashionable animated comedy South Park," a Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson said successful a connection Friday.

The showdown comes arsenic streaming services person been vying for subscribers and looking to scope profitability successful the adjacent future. Media companies person been spending billions of dollars connected contented to pull customers, and person precocious begun cutting costs arsenic accrued contention has led to slowing subscriber growth.

This week Warner Bros. Discovery reported a large loss successful its quarterly net arsenic the institution faces a softening advertizing market, which has weighed connected its revenue. The institution said, however, that it added 1.1 cardinal planetary streaming subscribers, bringing its full to 96.1 cardinal for services including HBO Max and Discovery+. Losses for the streaming concern besides narrowed to $217 cardinal for the period, "a $511 cardinal year-over-year improvement."

Warner Bros. Discovery plans to motorboat a combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming work this spring.

Meanwhile, Paramount said past week Paramount+ deed 56 cardinal subscribers successful its astir caller quarter. The institution plans to summation the price of its streaming work erstwhile it combines Paramount+ and Showtime aboriginal this year. Paramount besides said it was affected by the pugnacious advertisement market.