Two months after being sued for $200 million by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) over South Park streaming rights, Paramount has fired again with a $52 million countersuit of its personal.
WBD is arguing that Paramount was engaged in an “illicit conspiracy” and used “verbal trickery” to get round a $500 million deal the businesses agreed to in 2019, whereas Paramount says it’s given WBD’s streamer HBO Max every thing that was assured within the deal and its time for Warner to pay up.
Context: We coated Warners’ swimsuit on the time it was filed in a narrative that may be discovered right here, however right here’s a fast recap. Again in February, WBD sued Paramount, alleging that the corporate, South Park Digital Studios (SPDS), and MTV Leisure had colluded to discover a means round a 2019 streaming contract value $500 million. WBD says that the businesses used “verbal trickery designed to avoid the phrases of the 2019 settlement” through the use of “grammatical sleight-of-hand, characterizing new content material as ‘motion pictures,’ ‘movies,’ or ‘occasions’ to side-step SPDS’s contractual obligations” to HBO Max. By reclassifying new South Park content material, WBD argued, Paramount was allowed to maintain it unique by itself Paramount+ streaming platform.
What’s occurring now? On Wednesday of this week, Paramount filed a counterclaim with the New York Supreme Court docket that argues that HBO Max received every thing it was owed underneath the settlement however has withheld two required funds of $26 million.
What does Paramount need? In accordance with the grievance, South Park Studios is trying to get better all of the unpaid license charges, totaling greater than $52 million. The doc continues, “As well as, primarily based on WarnerMedia’s materials breaches of contract, and its indications that it’s going to proceed to withhold the $225+ million in license charges nonetheless owed for the remainder of the five-year time period, South Park Studios is entitled to a declaratory judgment confirming the events’ rights and obligations underneath the Time period Sheet.” In different phrases, they need WBD to maintain making the funds from the 2019 deal.
What’s Paramount saying? In a press release, a Paramount World spokesperson mentioned:
Warner Bros. Discovery has indefensibly refused to pay the greater than $50 million it owes for South Park content material that it has undisputedly acquired and which HBO Max continues to air and exploit. Warner Bros. Discovery’s argument that Paramount World was required to ship further South Park content material is baseless and wholly unsupported by the events’ settlement. Moreover, it definitely doesn’t justify WBD’s refusal to pay for immensely worthwhile content material all of which it has acquired and from which it continues to revenue.
