Streamers outside of the U.S. can no longer access South Park on Paramount+.
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| 'South Park' | Comedy Central |
Sources have confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline that Paramount+’s license to stream the series internationally has expired, noting the streaming platform is in continued negotiations and hopes to have the series back up soon for all subscribers.
International fans of the long-running animated series can still stream the South Park specials on Paramount+ and watch the show on Comedy Central, however. Older episodes are also available to stream for free on Paramount's FAST streaming service Pluto TV in select regions, including on the South Park channel on Pluto TV UK.
The removal is somewhat surprising as South Park‘s domestic streaming deal also recently expired but the series has remained on HBO Max in the U.S. while negotiations on a new pact are ongoing.
The news of the expired international license comes just days after it was announced that the season 27 premiere of South Park has been pushed back two weeks to Wednesday, July 23 from its original date of Wednesday, July 9. The delay comes amid growing tension over South Park‘s lucrative streaming rights as the series has been caught in the Skydance’s pending acquisition of Comedy Central parent Paramount Global, which co-owns the joint venture behind South Park, South Park Digital Studios, with series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone who run it.
Parker and Stone made their feelings about the pending transaction known publicly last week when the premiere of the upcoming Season 27 on Comedy Central was pushed from July 9 to July 23 amid the uncertainty.
“This merger is a sh*tshow and is f*cking up South Park,” they wrote on social media.
As one of the crown jewels of Paramount’s IP library, South Park had been expected to become available on Paramount+ once the show’s $500 million exclusive streaming licensing deal with HBO Max expired in late June 2025, with Paramount Global co-CEO Chris McCarthy telling investors in May that “starting this July, [South Park] will be coming to Paramount+ in the US.”
Last month, Parker and Stone threatened legal action against Paramount, accusing incoming president Jeff Shell of interfering with their contract negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Netflix, which are thought to be offering non-exclusive rights to the show. Shell, currently chairman of sports and media at Redbird Capital Partners, is set to take the reins once the merger between David Ellison’s Skydance and Paramount Global is complete. The deal, originally set to close on Sunday, July 6, is currently awaiting Federal Communications Commission approval to transfer Paramount’s broadcast licenses to Skydance. On Monday (July 7), representatives for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and its Hollywood Local 399 and the Center for American Rights met with the FCC to discuss concessions and emphasize their “commitment to explaining and applauding a final license package that protects the interests of workers, consumers, and investors.”
Paramount currently has two years left on its $900 million deal for the digital rights to South Park. In the Saturday, June 21 letter written by an attorney for Parker and Stone’s entertainment company Park County, Shell is said to have asked potential bidders to modify certain terms of their offers in a “manner calculated to benefit Paramount at the expense” of the company, specifically pointing to Shell urging WBD to give Paramount+ an exclusive 12-month window for new episodes of the show and to shorten the term of the deal from 10 to five years.
“We hereby demand that you, Redbird, and Skydance immediately cease your interference,” the letter reads. “If these activities continue, we will have no choice but to act to both protect our rights and discharge any obligations we may have to the public.”
In response, a spokesperson for Skydance released a statement which read, “Under the terms of the transaction agreement, Skydance has the right to approve material contracts.”
The clock now is ticking to find a resolution in the next 10 days in order to have a streaming agreement in place by South Park‘s current July 23 Season 27 premiere date.
South Park first debuted on Comedy Central on Aug. 13, 1997. The season 26 finale episode “Spring Break” aired on Mar. 29, 2023, with three specials following between October 2023 and May 2024.
Originally published: July 12, 2025.
H/T: What's on Paramount+, special thanks to @VazquezpYan1995 for the news!
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