New York
CNN
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Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit in opposition to Paramount Friday, claiming the rival media firm breached its half-billion-dollar exclusivity contract with HBO Max by airing “South Park” by itself streaming platform, Paramount+.
HBO Max is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, which additionally owns CNN.
Practically all “South Park” episodes air first on Paramount-owned Comedy Central. In 2019, Paramount and “South Park’s” creators collectively auctioned off streaming rights to the present’s first 23 seasons plus three new 10-episode seasons to HBO Max.
Previous to Discovery’s 2022 merger with Warner Bros., WarnerMedia, then owned by AT&T, agreed to pay practically $1.7 million for unique streaming rights for every “South Park” episode, the go well with alleges. The primary episodes of “South Park” season 24 have been to be delivered in March 2020. Then got here the pandemic, and WarnerMedia was informed that the brand new manufacturing of “South Park” can be halted, in keeping with the criticism.
In March 2021, Paramount launched Paramount+, and Warner Bros. Discovery claims Paramount, MTV and South Park Digital Studios collectively “deliberate to divert as a lot of the brand new “South Park” content material as attainable to Paramount+ with a view to increase that nascent streaming platform.”
The corporate additionally mentioned it was promised 30 new episodes over three seasons, however has solely obtained 14 episodes so far.
“We consider that Paramount and South Park Digital Studios launched into a multi-year scheme of unfair commerce practices and deception, flagrantly and repeatedly breaching our contract, which clearly gave HBO Max unique streaming rights to the prevailing library and new content material from the favored animated comedy South Park,” HBO Max mentioned in an announcement.
Paramount says these claims are “with out advantage.”
Paramount “continues to stick to the events’ contract by delivering new South Park episodes to HBO Max, even though Warner Bros. Discovery has failed and refused to pay license charges that it owes to Paramount for episodes which have already been delivered, and which HBO Max continues to stream,” a Paramount International spokesperson mentioned.
The lawsuit, filed within the New York State Supreme Court docket, additionally claims a separate $900 million deal between MTV, a subsidiary of Paramount, and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, broke the phrases of the contract in August 2021. This deal included 14 “made-for-streaming” “South Park” films that may premiere on Paramount+.
Warner Bros. Discovery claims the defendants used language like “films,” “movies,” and “occasions” to sidestep their contractual obligations.
“As Stone publicly described it, “we’ve got f—ok you cash now,” the go well with claims he mentioned, relating to the cope with MTV.
