Free Southpark For All
For years Southpark has been one of the most viewed and downloaded TV series on the internet. And none of it was filling the pockets of the show’s creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. So alongside with the network which airs the episodes, Viacom, they have decided to offer them online. For free!
All episodes will be offered free of charge, but there will be ads during the episodes. The idea was raised last November, but has finally been executed.
The creative minds behind the show, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, have used the latest episode to express their feelings towards the latest operation. They also took the opportunity to ridicule the Writer’s strike of last year. Script writers are compared to Canadians who are going on strike, simply because they want more money. They suggest the money they receive could come from new internet revenues. Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Butters decide to create a viral video in hope of generating revenue, which can then be given to the Canadians.
At the end of the episode Kyle’ sums up his feelings by saying the following:
“Yeah, but you know, I learned something today. We thought we could make money on the internet. But, while the internet is new and exciting for creative people, it hasn’t matured as a distribution mechanism to the extent that one should trade real and immediate opportunities for income for the promise of future online revenue. It will be a few years before digital distribution of media on the internet can be monetized to an extent that necessitates content producers to forego their fair value in more traditional media. ”
Clearly, the people behind the show believe there is money to be made on the internet - which is why they took the plunge and have decided to offer their show for free.
The episode also gave guest appearances to the Sneezing Panda, Chris Crocker, the StarWars Kid and Gary Brolsma among others, who all became famous thanks to the internet and YouTube in particular.
If you want to watch any Soutpark episode just go to Southpark Studios.
Hat tip: Will Video for Food
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Igor Beuker April 7th, 2008 at 19:34
it’s one of the most popular shows for many years, and really sticky content!
I think MTV has the IPR’s and will endorse the rights to mobile, reatil promotions and more…!
Next migth be sponge bob for the little ones, also owned by MTV I think?
Cheers
Daan Jansonius April 7th, 2008 at 19:40
Yeah, MTV (part of Viacom) are really making headway in the online world. Earlier I reported about their deal with MySpace: http://www.viralblog.com/2008/03/03/myspace-and-mtv-team-up/
They have plenty of content and shows which are ‘viral worthy’ !