The adult animated comedy show South Park has been extended by three years from its current two year with cable network Comedy Central. This is mainly due to the streaming service Hulu which will pay $192 million to the network’s owner Viacom and show’s creative team.
This means that South Park will be on air for at least five more years through 2019 and will be networks longest running scripted primetime show extending its run for more than 23 seasons. South Park is the longest-running animated series behind The Simpsons and Arthur.
Viewership for the animated show has seen a decline in the recent years but still the show remains one of the best for the cable network in their primetime slot. Hulu has been a good option for the show as Comedy Central will be able to monetize along with keeping the show alive.
Show’s creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker who still are doing most of the writing and directing for the show have expressed that they will keep continuing the show beyond the five seasons unless Comedy Central cancels the show. The show which has been on air since 1997 has seen it extend to various other entertainment formats with movies, animated shorts and games.
With Video-On-Demand (VOD) war getting hotter day by day, Hulu wants to make it clear that it is the clear contender to Netflix and challenge its stronghold with the exclusive content on its platform. Recently in April, it acquired rights to air Seinfield for a whopping $160 million and cracked a deal with CBS for all 300 episodes of CSI.
Hulu which is currently an ad based free to view platform will slowly turn to subscription based platform on the lines of Netflix to keep the premium content coming for its audience.
