The creators of “South Park” reneged on a more than half-billion-dollar deal with HBO and its parent company to sign an even more lucrative deal with Paramount to become a marquee offering of its streaming service, a lawsuit that Warner Bros. filed in Manhattan alleges.
HBO Max, whose parent company is plaintiff WarnerMedia Direct, says it outbid numerous competitors to sign a contract with South Park Digital Studios (SPDS) in 2019.
Warner Bros. claims that this more than $500 million deal, announced to great fanfare on Comedy Central’s website, gave them exclusive streaming rights to the series’ entire library, plus three new seasons.
Then, the company claims, Paramount hatched a plan to lure the “South Park” franchise to its new streaming service—and sidestep the show’s contractual obligations through a “campaign of verbal trickery.”
