Another setback for South Park fans. The hit animated comedy has been taken off Paramount+ outside of the U.S. as the platform’s license to stream it has expired. The Paramount Global streamer’s negotiations for the rights to the series continue, sources said.
The removal is somewhat surprising as South Park‘s domestic streaming deal also recently expired but the series has remained on HBO Max in the U.S. while negotiations on a new pact are ongoing.
The delay comes amid growing tension over South Park‘s lucrative streaming rights as the series has been caught in the Skydance’s pending acquisition of Comedy Central parent Paramount Global, which co-owns the joint venture behind South Park, South Park Digital Studios, with series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone who run it.
Parker and Stone, who recently threatened legal action against Paramount Global’s potential new owner and President alleging interference in the South Park streaming rights negotiations, made their feelings about the pending transaction known publicly last week when the premiere of the upcoming Season 27 on Comedy Central was pushed from July 9 to July 23 amid the uncertainty.
“This merger is a sh*tshow and is f*cking up South Park,” they wrote on X.
As one of the crown jewels of Paramount’s IP library, South Park had been expected to become available on Paramount+ once the show’s $500 million exclusive streaming licensing deal with HBO Max expired in late June 2025, with Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy telling investors in May that “starting this July, [South Park] will be coming to Paramount+ in the US.”
It is shocking that currently, the show’s library is not on the company’s platform in any territory aside from the handful of South Park specials made for Paramount+. (The series remains on Comedy Central.)
According to a legal letter an attorney for Parker and Stone’s Park County sent last month to RedBird, Skydance and RedBird’s Jeff Shell — who is poised to become Paramount Global President upon completion of its proposed acquisition by Skydance — HBO Max and Netflix have engaged in conversations over South Park‘s streaming rights — believed to be non-exclusive.
The clock now is ticking to find a resolution in the next 10 days in order to have a streaming agreement in place by South Park‘s current July 23 Season 27 premiere date.
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