Satirical cartoon moves to Paramount+ after bidding war

The creators of South Park – Trey Parker and Matt Stone – have struck a deal to move the long-running satirical cartoon from from HBO Max to rival Paramount+.

Under the five-year deal, Paramount+ will stream all 26 previous seasons of the show and debut 50 new episodes starting this week.

The move comes after a months-long bidding war a between major streaming platforms.

In recent days, Paramount and its CBS network have faced criticism over the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which the firm says “is purely a financial decision”.

The five-year deal is worth $1.5bn (£1.1bn), according to the Los Angeles Times.

New episodes will first be shown on Paramount’s cable channel Comedy Central before streaming on Paramount+.

The latest season, which was originally slated to start airing from 9 July, was delayed due to contract negotiations.

The animated comedy debuted in 1997 and has become known for its foul-mouthed characters and its unfiltered humour that has often landed the show in controversy.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, also created the controversial hit musical The Book of Mormon.

Some Democratic Party politicians have questioned whether CBS’ cancellation of the Late Show after more than three decades was tied to a settlement it agreed with US President Donald Trump.

He filed a lawsuit last October, alleging CBS had deceptively edited an interview that aired on its 60 Minutes news programme with his presidential election rival Kamala Harris, to “tip the scales in favour of the Democratic party”.

Paramount said it would pay $16m to settle the suit, but with the money allocated to Trump’s future presidential library, not paid to him “directly or indirectly”.

The company noted the settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret.