South Park will be on the air for at least five more seasons, through 2019.
Today, Comedy Central announced the show had been extended by three seasons and 30 episodes – through 23 seasons and 304 episodes. The 19th season is set to premiere on September 16th.
“‘South Park’ remains the bedrock of Comedy Central and we are thrilled that new episodes will continue to entertain audiences for years to come,” said Comedy Central President Michele Ganeless. “The series remains as urgent and relevant now as the day it premiered and at nearly 20 seasons in it continues to draw generations of new fans.”
And apparently Hulu agrees. In a separate, but related deal, South Park Digital Studios also agreed to extend its deal with Hulu for all additional seasons and new episodes. This is an extension of an exclusive deal, first signed in July of last year.
So, how much did Hulu pay to be the only place you can stream South Park?
According to the Hollywood Reporter, a record amount. Apparently, Hulu paid Viacom $192 million for the next five years of shows, as well as the keep the current 254 episodes on its service exclusively.
That’s $32 million more than Hulu paid to acquire the SVOD rights to Seinfeld back in April.
Not only has @SouthPark been extended by 3 seasons and 30 episodes, so has its record-breaking deal with #hulu. pic.twitter.com/5ZaDjUYc51
— hulu (@hulu) July 8, 2015
New episodes of South Park will continue to be made available on Hulu a day after airing.