Oh My God, Kenny! The South Park Creators Just Signed A $1.5 Billion Streaming Deal

Let's say you start a business with a partner. After raising some venture capital, giving employees equity, and bringing on a founding advisor, you end up owning 30% of the company. A few years later, the company sells for $1 billion. You walk away with $300 million. That's an incredible outcome.

But that's it. The company is sold, your equity is wiped, and you move on.

Now imagine a magical scenario where you create something—and instead of selling it once, you get to sell it again. And again. Every few years, the same asset comes back around, and each time it gets licensed or sold, you earn a massive check.

That magical world is real. It's called television syndication.

The Magic of TV Syndication

In the world of syndication, when a hit show gets licensed to a new platform or distributor, the creators typically own around 10% of the backend. In extremely rare cases, that number might be higher—but only if the creators are megastars, and only after the show becomes a cultural juggernaut.

Take Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, for example. When "Seinfeld" premiered in 1989, the two co-creators each held 7.5% equity in the show's backend. By the mid-1990s, with NBC desperate to keep the show on the air, they were able to renegotiate their stake to an unheard-of 15% each.

That 15% paid off in a big way.

In 1998, when "Seinfeld" was first sold into syndication for a reported $1.7 billion, Larry and Jerry each earned around $250 million. In 2015, when Hulu acquired the exclusive streaming rights for $180 million, they each made another $30 million. And in 2019, when Netflix secured the show in a $500 million deal, Larry and Jerry each pocketed approximately $75 million.

These are massive payouts. Staggering by almost any measure.

And yet… Jerry and Larry are not even in the same ballpark as Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the co-creators of "South Park."

Speaking of 1997, the following photo was taken in August 1997, the week "South Park" premiered:

Trey Parker (left), Matt Stone (right) (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)

The Worthless Contract Clause

Some time just before the above photo was taken, Trey and Matt signed their first contract with Comedy Central and its then-parent company, Viacom. While negotiating that first contract, their heroic and brilliant lawyer slipped a clause into the deal that was considered worthless at the time. The clause gave the duo a 50% ownership stake in all non-broadcast revenue generated by "South Park."

And that clause was indeed considered worthless for the next 10 years because at the time, what did "non-broadcast" even mean? For the entire history of television up to that point, the only place to sell content was to broadcast television partners.

As we all know, the internet and eventual streaming era opened a new avenue for content sales.  So, today, thanks to that "worthless" clause, Trey Parker and Matt Stone earn a staggering 50% of all revenue generated when "South Park" is sold to a streaming partner.

• South Park's streaming rights were sold for the first time in 2015 to Hulu for $192 million. Therefore, Trey and Matt split $96 million. AKA, $48 million per person.
• The streaming license was up for renewal again in 2019. This time, HBO Max paid $500 million. Therefore, Trey and Matt split $250 million. AKA, $125 million per person.

And then there's today's news.

• Today, it was revealed, first reported by the LA Times, that South Park's global streaming rights were just acquired by Paramount for $1.5 billion. Therefore, Trey and Matt will split $750 million. AKA, $375 million per person.

This Isn't Even Their Only Massive Deal!

Today's $1.5 billion deal just covers the rights to air previously-created "South Park" episodes on Paramount's streaming services. Trey and Matt ALSO have a separate "overall" production deal which covers their production of new episodes of the series.

Their most recent overall deal was signed with ViacomCBS (which is now Paramount Global) back in 2021. Under this deal, Trey and Matt agreed to produce six new seasons of "South Park" and 14 exclusive movies. For this deal, Trey and Matt were paid $900 million with no other parties taking a cut. AKA, $450 million per person.

If you total up all the numbers in bold red above, between three streaming deals and one overall production deal, Trey and Matt have both earned $998 million. And that's just since 2015! 

That total doesn't include any of their previous half dozen overall deals, or anything they made from "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" or their "Team America" movie. It doesn't include touring or royalties from "The Book of Mormon", which has grossed over $1 billion on its own. It doesn't include their video games. Or merchandise. Or international syndication. Or their long-running Comedy Central salaries.

And remember! They still own 50% of the streaming rights to "South Park."

So, in two years (2027), their $900 million overall production deal will expire, resulting in another massive payday (100% of which goes to Trey and Matt). And then in 2031, their $1.5 billion streaming deal will expire and will result in another massive payday (of which they get 50%).

Trey is 55 years old, Matt is 54. Their creativity has not slowed down in the last 30 years. Over the next two decades, they could both easily earn $2-3 billion from various deals, and when they felt like it, how much would their 50% stake be worth if it came to market? Bottom line – There's a not-unrealistic world where, in the next few decades, the South Park guys are both multi-billionaires. And that is definitely a world I want to live in 🙂