South Park - Distribution

Distribution

Internationally, South Park is broadcast in India, New Zealand, and several countries throughout Europe and Latin America on channels that are divisions of Comedy Central and MTV Networks, both subsidiaries of Viacom. In distribution deals with Comedy Central, other independent networks also broadcast the series in other international markets. In Australia, the show is broadcast on The Comedy Channel, GO! (Season 5-8 edited and Season 9-10 Uncut) and SBS One (Season 15 Uncut). The series is broadcast uncensored in Canada on Télétoon, TQS and The Comedy Network. South Park also airs on TG4 in Ireland, HOT Comedy Central and HOT V.O.D in Israel, SIC Radical in Portugal, 2×2 in Russia, STV in Scotland, Comedy Central, MTV and Viva in the UK (previously on Channel 4) and B92 in Serbia.

Broadcast syndication rights to South Park were acquired by Debmar-Mercury and Tribune Entertainment in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Episodes further edited for content began running in syndication on September 19, 2005, and are aired in the United States with the TV-14 rating. 20th Television replaced Tribune as co-distributor in early 2008. The series is currently aired in syndication in 90 percent of the television markets across the U.S. and Canada, where it generates an estimated US$25 million a year in advertising revenue.

The first fourteen seasons of South Park are available in their entirety on DVD. Several other themed DVD compilations have been released by Rhino Entertainment and Comedy Central, while the three-episode Imaginationland story arc was reissued straight-to-DVD as a full-length feature in 2008.

In March 2008, Comedy Central made all South Park episodes available for legal streaming on the South Park Studios website. Within a week, the site served more than a million streams of full episodes, and the number grew to 55 million by October 2008. Legal issues prevent the U.S. content from being accessible outside the U.S., so local servers have been set up in other countries. In September 2009, a South Park Studios website with streaming episodes was launched in the UK. In Canada, episodes were available for streaming from The Comedy Network's website, though due to digital rights restrictions, they are no longer available.

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