Editing South Park (section)

===Streaming===
In March 2008, Comedy Central made every episode of ''South Park'' available for free full-length [[Video on demand|on-demand]] [[streaming media|legal streaming]] on the official South Park Studios website.<ref name="news-25mar2008">{{cite web|url=https://southpark.cc.com/news?id=3405 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330155318/http://www.southparkstudios.com/news/?id=3405 |url-status=live |archive-date=March 30, 2008 |title="South Park" Creators Trey Parker And Matt Stone And Comedy Central Launch The All-New Southparkstudios.com |access-date=October 19, 2008 |date=March 25, 2008 |publisher=South Park Studios}}</ref> From March 2008 until December 2013, new episodes were added to the site the day following their debut, and an uncensored version was posted the following day. The episode stayed up for the remainder of the week, then taken down, and added to the site three weeks later.

Within a week, the site served more than a million streams of full episodes,<ref name="news-25mar2008" /> and the number grew to 55 million by October 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boingboing.net/2008/10/08/bb-exclusive-sneak-p.html|title=BB Exclusive: Sneak Peek At South Park's Sweet, Yet-Unreleased iPhone App|access-date=February 21, 2022|last=Jardin|first=Xeni|date=October 8, 2008|publisher=[[Boing Boing]]|archive-date=February 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221163650/https://boingboing.net/2008/10/08/bb-exclusive-sneak-p.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Legal issues prevent the U.S. content from being accessible outside the United States,<ref>[http://southpark.de/ South Park Studios Germany] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215084821/http://www.southpark.de/ |date=February 15, 2017 }}: "Due to copyright and other legal reasons, South Park video content cannot be viewed outside the United States."</ref> so local servers have been set up in other countries.<ref>For instance, [http://www.southpark.de/ southpark.de] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520082803/http://www.southpark.de/ |date=May 20, 2021 }} in Germany.</ref> In September 2009, a South Park Studios website with streaming episodes was launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southparkstudios.co.uk/news/?month=9&year=2009|title=SouthParkStudios.co.uk Has Arrived|access-date=October 6, 2009|date=September 26, 2009|publisher=South Park Studios|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010133031/http://www.southparkstudios.co.uk/news/?month=9&year=2009|archive-date=October 10, 2009}}</ref> In Canada, episodes were available for streaming from The Comedy Network's website, though due to digital rights restrictions, they are no longer available.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/south-park-now-streaming|title=South Park: Now streaming|date=March 27, 2008|publisher=Montreal Gazette|access-date=February 21, 2022|last=Boshra|first=Basem|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812184039/https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/south-park-now-streaming|archive-date=August 12, 2020}}</ref>

In April 2010, the season five episode "[[Super Best Friends]]" and the season fourteen episodes "[[200 (South Park)|200]]" and "[[201 (South Park)|201]]" were removed from the site; additionally, these episodes no longer air in reruns and are only available exclusively on DVD and Blu-ray. These episodes remain unavailable following the 2014 purchase by Hulu.

In July 2014, it was announced that [[Hulu]] had signed a three-year deal purchasing exclusive online streaming rights to the ''South Park'' for a reported $80&nbsp;million. Following the announcement every episode remained available for free on the South Park Studios website, using the Hulu [[Media player (software)|player]]. As of September 2014, following the premiere of the eighteenth season, only 30 select episodes would be featured for free viewing at a time on a rotating basis on the website, with new episodes being available for an entire month starting the day following their original airings. The entire series was available on Hulu by this point.<ref name=Hulu2014>{{cite web|last1=Jarvey|first1=Natalie|title='South Park' to Stream Exclusively on Hulu Plus|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/south-park-stream-exclusively-hulu-718074/|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=July 12, 2014|access-date=February 16, 2022|archive-date=February 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217015355/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/south-park-stream-exclusively-hulu-718074/|url-status=live}}</ref>

As of July 2015, all episodes of ''South Park'' are available for streaming in Canada on the service [[CraveTV]], which first consisted of seasons 1–18. Subsequent seasons were released the following July.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bellmedia.ca/pr/press/every-episode-every-season-south-park-launches-exclusively-cravetv-canada-day-july-1/|title=Every Episode. Every Season. SOUTH PARK Launches Exclusively on CraveTV this Canada Day, July 1 –|website=Bell Media|access-date=August 3, 2017|archive-date=August 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803130243/http://www.bellmedia.ca/pr/press/every-episode-every-season-south-park-launches-exclusively-cravetv-canada-day-july-1/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In early October 2019, industry rumors suggested that the streaming rights for ''South Park'' were being offered to various services, creating an intense bidding war that was estimated to be as high as {{USD|500 million}}. HBO and South Park Digital Studios announced that HBO had secured a multi-year deal for the exclusive streaming rights for ''South Park'' on their [[Max (streaming service)|HBO Max]] service starting June 24, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 24, 2020|title=HBO Max Announces South Park's Arrival Date|url=https://www.cbr.com/hbo-max-south-park-arrival-date/|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=CBR|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920112828/https://www.cbr.com/hbo-max-south-park-arrival-date/|url-status=live}}</ref> While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, ''Variety'' reported the deal fell between {{USD|500 million}} and {{USD|550 million}}.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/south-park-stream-exclusively-hbo-max-1203387212/ | title = HBO Max Wins 'South Park' Streaming Rights for Over $500 Million | first = Elaine | last = Low | date = October 29, 2019 | access-date = October 29, 2019 | work = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | archive-date = October 30, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191030000132/https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/south-park-stream-exclusively-hbo-max-1203387212/ | url-status = live }}</ref> Beginning with season 25 in 2022, HBO Max posts new episodes the next day after their Comedy Central airing.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Outlaw |first1=Kofi |title=South Park Season 25 Now Streaming on HBO Max |url=https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/south-park-season-25-now-streaming-on-hbo-max/ |website=ComicBook |access-date=February 16, 2022 |date=February 4, 2022 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217015355/https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/south-park-season-25-now-streaming-on-hbo-max/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Once that deal expires in 2025, [[Paramount+]] will become the exclusive streaming home. In addition, the season 27 episodes would stream first on Paramount+ before hitting HBO Max.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Warner |first1=Sam |title=South Park is set to get a new worldwide streaming home |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a39105447/south-park-paramount-plus-streaming-home/ |website=Digital Spy |access-date=February 16, 2022 |date=February 16, 2022 |archive-date=February 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216150111/https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a39105447/south-park-paramount-plus-streaming-home/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Though season 27 would have originally aired in 2024, the season was delayed due to what Parker and Stone claimed to be uncertainties about the [[2024 United States presidential election]] (mainly the exhaustion of [[Donald Trump in popular culture|humor set around Donald Trump]]), along with the [[proposed merger of Skydance Media and Paramount Global]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2024/09/south-park-returning-2025-creators-skipping-donald-trump-jokes-election-paramount-1236079397/#comment-4177375|title='South Park' Returning In 2025; Why Creators Are Skipping Donald Trump Jokes About Election & "Waiting For Paramount To Figure Their Sh** Out"|last=Tinoco|first=Armando|date=5 September 2024|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|publisher=Penske Media Group|access-date=6 September 2024}}</ref>

In February 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery filed a lawsuit which claimed that Paramount breached its exclusivity contract with HBO Max by airing ''South Park'' on its own streaming platform.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maruf |first1=Ramishah |date=February 26, 2023 |title='South Park' lawsuit: Warner Bros. Discovery sues Paramount for $500 million |url=https://us.cnn.com/2023/02/26/business/south-park-hbo-max-paramount-lawsuit/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227161331/https://us.cnn.com/2023/02/26/business/south-park-hbo-max-paramount-lawsuit/index.html |archive-date=February 27, 2023 |access-date=27 February 2023 |website=CNN}}</ref>