Paramount Global's (PARA) potential buyer Skydance Media is blocking a deal worth $2.5 billion with the creators of the animated show "South Park," who have threatened legal action, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing a letter from the creators.
Show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been in talks to extend their current production deal with Paramount, which expires in 2027. Paramount had aimed to split the show's US streaming rights between Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) HBO Max and Netflix (NFLX), which would have resulted in two deals worth over $1 billion over 10 years, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
Skydance then contacted Warner Bros. and Netflix with its own plans on contract terms and deadlines, provoking an angry letter from Parker and Stone's lawyer accusing Skydance of interfering with the process, according to the report.
"Under the terms of the transaction agreement, Skydance has the right to approve material contracts," the company said in a statement quoted by Bloomberg.
Paramount and Skydance did not immediately reply to a request for comment from MT Newswires.
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