A few months after Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) sued Paramount over the broadcast rights to “South Park,” Paramount is now fighting back.
On Wednesday, April 19, Paramount countered defendant WBD, alleging that the company is withholding two required payments of $26 million each, bringing the total unpaid fees to $52 million.
“South Park Studios has complied with the terms of the written term sheet. WarnerMedia has not done so,” the counterclaim writes. Instead, despite continually exploiting and profiting from the 300+ episodes of South Park that are still available to stream on HBO Max, Warner Media is refusing to pay tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees owed to South Park. Studios for the right to exploit that content.”
The countersuit, filed in New York Supreme Court, argues that the unpaid fees cover all 318 episodes of “South Park” airing on HBO Max.
The more than 300 episodes are from seasons 1 through 26. HBO Max is also airing the made-for-television documentary “6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park,” which Paramount mentioned in the document.
“To allegedly justify its non-payment, WarnerMedia accused South Park Studios of breaching certain alleged obligations in the Term Sheet,” it added.
In 2019, WBD paid $500 million for broadcast rights to air 23 seasons of the animated sitcom, as well as three new seasons (seasons 24, 25, and 26) that had yet to air. The agreement was to last until June 2025.
In February of this year, WBD filed a lawsuit (Deadline acquired the document) that accused Paramount of reneging on the deal, alleging that Paramount stole “South Park” content from HBO Max to put up its own streaming service, Paramount+. To be more specific, WBD said that Paramount released new “South Park” specials on Paramount+, which WBD believes should have aired on HBO Max.
In 2021, Paramount’s MTV studios paid a whopping $900 million in a deal with “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The deal, which runs through 2027, included six seasons of the show, as well as 14 made-for-streaming movies that would air exclusively on Paramount+.
“We believe that Paramount and South Park Digital Studios engaged in a multi-year scheme of deception and unfair business practices, in flagrant and repeated breach of our contract, which clearly granted HBO Max exclusive streaming rights to the existing library and new content. from the popular animated series. comedy South Park,” a WBD spokesperson said in a statement shared with TechCrunch.
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s argument that Paramount Global was obligated to deliver additional South Park content is unfounded and in no way supported by the parties’ agreement. Furthermore, it certainly does not justify WBD’s refusal to pay for immensely valuable content, all of which it has received and continues to benefit from,” a Paramount spokesperson said. Variety yesterday.
Paramount was not immediately available for comment with TechCrunch.
In the February 2023 lawsuit, WBD stated that the company made an offer for the broadcast rights to “South Park” because it was confident that the three yet-to-air seasons would consist of 10 episodes each. However, the company claims that Paramount fell short on several episodes.
WBD added that it continues to assume damages in excess of $200 million “as a result of Defendants’ misconduct,” the lawsuit wrote. According to the company, the new episodes have a higher value than the previous ones. Thus, WBD overpaid for broadcast rights.