The foul-mouthed children of South Park could have simply made their creators billion-dollar gamers within the streaming wars.

In line with a report within the Los Angeles Instances, the Emmy and Oscar-nominated Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the longtime masterminds behind Comedy Central’s animated romp “South Park,” have reached a groundbreaking five-year take care of Paramount for the worldwide streaming rights to their iconic animated sequence. Valued at $300 million per yr, the settlement would whole a staggering $1.5 billion, in response to the newpaper.

Sources with information of the state of affairs inform Selection {that a} deal has certainly been reached, however didn’t have specifics. Paramount didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark, maybe as a result of the deal isn’t but finalized.

The brand new pact comes following a latest tense standoff between Parker and Stone and Paramount. Parker and Stone have accused incoming Paramount president Jeff Shell of interfering of their contract negotiations with WBD and Netflix. In the meantime, in response to a latest Hollywood Reporter story, Paramount International and Parker/Stone had already outlined a pact that will have unfold over a decade and been valued at $3 billion. However Skydance, which is within the course of of buying Paramount, is claimed to have balked at that settlement.

As this was all occurring, the “South Park” Season 27 premiere was delayed by two weeks to July 23. In response, the official “South Park” X/Twitter account launched a press release from Parker and Stone: ‘This merger is a shit present and it’s fucking up ‘South Park,’” the duo wrote in response to the press launch from Comedy Central concerning the change in premiere date for “South Park.” “We’re on the studio engaged on new episodes and we hope the followers get to see them one way or the other.”

The brand new take care of Parker and Stone’s Park County manufacturing firm would deliver common “South Park” episodes to Paramount+ within the U.S. for the primary time, marking a significant strategic shift for the long-running animated satirical program. Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max had beforehand maintained the unique streaming rights to the sequence, though Paramount+ has aired a number of “South Park” occasion specials. The HBO Max deal expired final month.

The brand new settlement arrives simply forward of the launch of the present’s twenty seventh season, which airs on Comedy Central on Wednesday, July 23 and days earlier than Parker and Stone are set to seem at San Diego Comedian-Con.

Whereas the streaming pact is the notable headline-grabber, Parker and Stone are additionally renegotiating an total take care of Paramount to proceed producing new episodes for Comedy Central past their present settlement, which runs via 2027. Their earlier pact — valued at $900 million — was struck in 2021 and funded these Paramount+ made-for-streaming specials in addition to the principle sequence.

The acquisition of unique streaming rights to “South Park” is a significant win for Paramount+, which continues to compete in opposition to giants like Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max, and in addition with the Skydance Acquisition lingering within the steadiness.

Premiering in 1997, “South Park” has developed from a scrappy, paper-cut animation right into a cultural establishment, identified for its no-holds-barred satire and fearless tackle politics, popular culture and the absurdities of on a regular basis life.