Why isn’t South Park on Paramount Plus? Streaming war explained

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It was planned that July 1, 2025 would mark the date when all episodes of South Park (excluding those considered inappropriate) would be available for streaming on Paramount Plus. However, a fresh conflict has arisen, leaving us wondering about the current situation.

Excitedly, I can’t contain my enthusiasm as a diehard South Park fan! The fantastic news is mine and many others’ dreams have come true: Stan, Kyle, Eric, and Kenny are back in action for a brand new season! Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the brilliant minds behind this iconic animated series, have graced us with Season 27. Get ready to tune in on Comedy Central on July 9, where these long-awaited episodes will premiere!

The time between seasons is approximately two years long, and there are several factors contributing to this delay. One significant factor was the creators’ decision to bypass the election, as Parker stated last year in an interview with Vanity Fair, “I don’t know what more we could possibly say about Trump.”

The seasons have a gap of around two years, and there are various reasons for the hold-up. A major reason was the creators electing to avoid depicting the election, with Parker explaining in an interview last year, “We’ve already said everything we can about Trump.

A significant aspect of this situation seems to be a wait for Paramount to sort out their issues, as Parker put it. However, it appears that they are still in the process of doing so, since the streaming agreement has not been finalized.

Why isn’t South Park on Paramount Plus?

It’s probably because the streaming competition between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (the owners of HBO Max) might be preventing South Park from appearing on Paramount+.

To put it simply, for those not already familiar, a past agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery granted exclusive rights to stream the animated series up until June 30, 2025. Since this date has passed, there have been widespread reports that all seasons of the show will move to Paramount’s streaming platform.

Nevertheless, as of July 2, Seasons 1-26 remain accessible on HBO Max. This development has left many fans disgruntled, with one expressing their frustration on Reddit: “I reside in a household that refuses to subscribe to HBO, so I eagerly anticipated the announcement that South Park would be available on Paramount Plus. Consequently, I spent the entire night waiting on the app to watch it…

Is there an issue, or do I need to check for updates on my devices? Given that it was scheduled for today, I’m quite puzzled.

It’s frustrating that I haven’t heard a peep from Paramount Plus, despite my eagerness,” another person expressed. “I have access to Max, but I’ve found some shows on Paramount that I enjoy (largely due to nostalgia), so I was considering moving there. It’s now 6:40pm and I’m still waiting for any update. This is really disappointing.

One person mentioned they purchased a year’s subscription to Paramount Plus, thinking they would find South Park in July. Another user suggested that Matt and Trey create their own site to release the show directly.

What’s going on with South Park’s streaming rights?

To grasp the present predicament, let’s travel back to 2019, where Warner Bros. Discovery (formerly known as WarnerMedia) sealed a significant licensing agreement regarding South Park.

The agreement granted HBO Max the exclusive U.S. streaming privileges for Seasons 1 to 23, plus upcoming seasons and newly released episodes up until Season 26. Essentially, these contents would become available on their platform the following day after they were broadcasted on Comedy Central.

The sticker price came in at an astonishing $500 million. But complications arose once Paramount Global, the umbrella organization for South Park’s long-standing network, Comedy Central, introduced their streaming platform, Paramount+.

2021 saw the media firm unveil a standalone $900 million agreement with Parker and Stone, allowing them to produce a set of unique “South Park” motion pictures exclusively for Paramount+. To put it another way, these projects can be considered as extended South Park episodes.

This action sparked some surprise, particularly at Warner Bros., who argued that these specials infringed upon their exclusive streaming agreement. Consequently, a courtroom battle ensued in 2023, as Warner Bros. Discovery took legal action against Paramount Global, accusing them of breaching the contract.

In response, Paramount filed a lawsuit against Warner, alleging that they were late with their licensing payments. This situation has since become extremely complex due to intertwined agreements, contradictory rights, and escalating dissatisfaction on both sides.

What does Skydance have to do with this?

Apart from this, it’s worth noting that a potential corporate merger between Skydance Media and Paramount Global is on the horizon. However, an $8 billion agreement announced in 2024 has yet to be finalized as of July 2025.

Completing this could significantly transform Paramount’s organizational setup, possibly altering the functioning of its streaming division as well. This development further intensifies the uncertainty surrounding the South Park scenario.

It seems that despite initial plans for Paramount+ to be the sole streaming platform for the show from July 1, the pending legal disputes and recent acquisition by Skydance might explain why the move to Paramount+ has temporarily stalled.

It seems that the fusion of Paramount and Skydance has introduced complications, leading to a disagreement that has temporarily prolonged South Park’s airing on Max, according to a Reddit user. In simpler terms, this merger might be causing a delay in Season 27 of South Park due to some ongoing disputes.

Later on, they mentioned, ‘I’m wondering if the upcoming season will be postponed until everything gets sorted out. To put it another way, it seems uncertain about the future of the new season at this moment.’

We received a sneak peek at Season 27 a few months ago, and as of now, we haven’t heard anything about any postponements. For the moment, July 9 is set as the premiere date.

Where do Trey Parker and Matt Stone stand?

It is evident that the creators are growing weary or tired, as they took a stand and hinted at potential lawsuits in June 2025, only weeks before their planned move to streaming. This action suggests their frustration at finding themselves caught up in corporate conflicts.

In a letter obtained by THR, the lawyer claims that Jeff Shell, who could become Paramount’s president following the completion of the Skydance merger, has allegedly meddled with possible streaming partners such as HBO Max and Netflix.

Guiding the streamers to alter specific aspects of their deals in a way that seems to advantage Paramount, potentially at the cost or disadvantage of the relevant company.

This letter requests that you, Redbird and Skydance, stop interfering right away. If this behavior persists, we will be forced to take action in order to safeguard our rights and fulfill any duties owed to the public.

Essentially, there’s a lot of uncertainty – we could use a bit more reliability from corporations to ensure that South Park continues to thrive.

As you anticipate Season 27, delve into the Hawk Tuah girl’s South Park petition, Lizzo’s ‘The End of Obesity’ mention, and discover fresh TV series available for streaming this month.

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2025-07-02 15:19