“South Park” creators strike deal with Hulu

Three year deal gives Hulu exclusive streaming rights.

Good news for fans who can’t get enough of South Park.

Hulu and Hulu Plus have acquired exclusive streaming rights of the entire library of 293 episodes, effective immediately. The free and subscription versions of Hulu will carry the library until September 24, when South Park’s eighteenth season begins. Afterward, only Hulu Plus subscribers will have full access to all South Park episodes.

New episodes of South Park will be available the next day on both services after their initial airing on Comedy Central.

The announcement was made Saturday at The Television Critics Association Press Tour. The deal is for three years and worth around $80 million, according to the New York Times.

The library was previously on SouthParkStudios.com, a website run by South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. As of Saturday, Hulu will take over video operations and become the national advertising representative for the site, offering a limited number of ad-supported episodes beginning September 24. SouthParkStudios.com will also host new episodes a day after airing.

Comedy Central will continue to run older episodes of South Park. Except for a handful of cash-only deals, South Park disappeared from broadcast syndication in 2012 after seven years and two cycles. Debmar-Mercury still owns rights to distribute the series in domestic syndication.

Debuting on August 13, 1997, South Park is television’s second-longest running animated series currently on the air, only behind The Simpsons.