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MUMBAI:
In an effort to retrieve the revenues lost to illegal downloads
and clips on the web, the creators of the popular 2-D animated
series South Park are trying to spread the show's presence
in a new digital venture.
Creators
Trey Parker and Matt Stone have reportedly sealed a deal worth
$75 million with Viacom to distribute the series from TV to
the the new media, viz. internet, mobile phones and game consoles.
The ad revenue would be split on a 50-50 basis with Viacom.
Viacom's
Doug Herzog said, "This extension and the formation of
the joint venture are the beginnings of a new era for South
Park and Comedy Central and a natural evolution of our long-term
and prosperous relationship with Trey and Matt."
As
part of the deal, they will also make a minimum of three more
series for its cable channel Comedy Central. In his typical
sardonic humor, Stone said, "This gives us the opportunity
to offend many more people. Now that Trey and myself are in
charge of the digital side of South Park, we can offend people
on their cell phones, game consoles and computers too. It
is all very exciting for us."
The
duo hopes that fans will now watch episodes, with advertising
on the official site rather than on unlicensed websites. SouthParkStudios.com
which will be relaunched early next year will host the digital
content apart from being the online destination for Stone
and Parker's new animation projects.
South
Park which was launched in 1997 is believed to be Comedy Central's
biggest hit and new episodes currently attract about three
million viewers.
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