Breaking down the numbers on the South Park deal vs the ‘Simpsons’ Harry Shearer deal

We reported yesterday that South Park was picked up for a bunch of more seasons, but The Hollywood Reporter had some monetary numbers that were, quite simply, staggering.

First up, the Hulu deal with Viacom and the producers of South Park comes to $192 million over five years with Comedy Central/Viacom getting a 50/50 split with Matt Stone and Trey Parker. This will be the first-time that digital rights are more so than the production costs which right now is at $110 million over the next five years for the South Park producers.

So yea, that’s $300 million in total monies allotted with South Park, and while half of the Hulu money goes to Viacom and a chunk of the production money goes back into the show, it’s not crazy to think that Matt Stone and Trey Parker have one of the richest animated contracts in television. The show is crazy profitable because it’s made in Flash and Matt Stone/Trey Parker comprises of most if not all of the voice staff.

In related news, Harry Shearer’s new deal with The Simpsons is the same as all of the other voice cast which is now $300,000 PER episode. Take that number, times that by the number of cast members, then take into account production costs and what not and if FOX had South Park they’d probably be making a lot more in profit. In terms of merchandising, The Simpsons have the cake and they eat it too by a mile, but in terms of TV revenue, I would take South Park any day.

Read more on the South Park pick up here as well as Harry Shearer returning to The Simpsons