When David Ellison took the reins as the new CEO of Paramount on August 10, 2025, he made it clear that the company’s future would be built on streaming—and that one irreverent animated show, South Park, was right at the heart of his recovery strategy. According to CNN, Ellison described South Park as a key asset, not a liability, at a time when the media giant was reeling from years of upheaval, legal battles, and fierce political headwinds. "Matt and Trey are incredibly talented," Ellison told CNN, referring to the show’s creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. "They criticize everyone equally, and they always have."
That even-handed mockery has never been more in the spotlight. In July and August 2025, South Park unleashed some of its sharpest satire yet at former President Donald Trump. One episode depicted Trump hanging out with Satan, while another left a naked Trump stranded in the desert, talking to his "very small penis." Both episodes became instant ratings hits, with the 27th season premiere drawing 5.9 million viewers—the show’s best debut since 2022 and its highest audience share since 1999. According to Mezha.net, this surge was largely fueled by the show’s biting political humor, which has always walked the line between fearless satire and controversy.
Ellison, who inherited a $300 billion software fortune and produced blockbuster hits like Top Gun: Maverick, now controls not just South Park but also CBS News, the legendary network once helmed by Walter Cronkite. The transition comes after Paramount’s $8 billion acquisition by Skydance Media was finalized on August 7, 2025, marking what The Guardian called a "seismic shift in the US media landscape." The deal followed years of financial turmoil for Paramount, and it was only approved after a $16 million payment to Trump to settle a lawsuit over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Many, including Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, saw the settlement as a way to "grease the wheels of merger approval." As Stern put it, "No one believes this was an ordinary settlement based on legitimate judgments. This was to grease the wheels of merger approval."
Ellison, for his part, has been quick to stress compliance and transparency. At a press conference on August 7, he stated, "We comply with all laws, including anti-bribery laws." He also emphasized that he does not want to politicize the company, adding, "I don’t want to politicize our company in any form." Yet, the reality is that Paramount’s fate is now deeply entangled with the nation’s political currents. The Trump administration reviewed the Paramount–Skydance deal because of CBS station ownership and FCC licensing, adding a layer of regulatory scrutiny. Paramount agreed to create an ombudsperson at CBS to review complaints about potential bias—a move that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump ally, followed up by announcing an open review into complaints about "distortion of the news" on 60 Minutes.
Meanwhile, South Park remains both a lightning rod and a goldmine. Ellison’s loyalty to Stone and Parker has never wavered, and he sees the series as a pillar for Paramount’s streaming ambitions. The company recently inked a five-year deal with the creators, valued at approximately $1.5 billion, which includes 50 new episodes and exclusive online distribution rights. As Ellison told staff in a letter, "Our financial north star is to maximise the long-term value of the company. In some areas this may mean bold moves and increased investments, in others it will mean scrutinising spending to maximise margins and shareholder value."
The streaming wars are fierce, with Paramount+ fighting for attention against behemoths like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+. Ellison hopes that South Park—with its vast archive and loyal fanbase—will act as a catalyst for Paramount+’s growth. According to CNN, the company sees the show’s digital exclusivity as a way to attract a long-term audience and strengthen its position in the digital era.
But the political stakes are high. The show’s relentless satire of Trump has put CBS and Paramount in a tricky position, especially as local TV stations serving Republican-leaning audiences find themselves in the crosshairs. Al Tompkins, a journalism professor with decades of experience in conservative Florida newsrooms, told The Guardian, “Shows like that put local TV stations in a pickle, especially when they serve Republican-dominated audiences. Day after day, they attack someone who’s politically popular.” Still, Tompkins is optimistic: “If they get the ratings, they’ll do whatever they want to do. And the public is yearning for the truth. Truth sells.”
The drama doesn’t end with South Park. The shifting sands of media ownership have sparked fears about self-censorship and the blurring of journalistic standards. Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation has accused mainstream editors of "self-censorship, pulling punches and both-sidesism—disingenuously presenting quackery and fact-based views on vaccines as equivalent, for instance." The comparison to Russian media in the 1990s oligarch era is no longer a stretch, Stern warns. “I don’t think we are at a point where Trump has captured the US media but he has softened it.”
Other major outlets aren’t immune. ABC News paid $15 million to settle a similar lawsuit last year. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, pre-emptively vetoed a Harris election endorsement and instructed the opinion desk to focus on "personal liberties and free markets," prompting at least 32 prominent writers to leave, according to the Columbia Journalism Review. The message is clear: profitability and political pressure are reshaping American journalism, sometimes at the expense of editorial independence.
Ellison, for his part, has pledged that CBS News will "reflect the varied ideological perspectives of American viewers." He spent time last month at the Sun Valley media retreat with Bari Weiss, a former New York Times writer turned conservative Substack publisher. Weiss, for her part, is reportedly seeking a $200 million investment from Ellison, who is intrigued by her 1.5 million paying subscribers. As journalism professor Tompkins observed, "Journalism is attracting investors who are not interested in the product but only in profitability."
Yet, for all the upheaval, the audience remains the final arbiter. As Tompkins put it, "In the end, we’re going to have to rely on the consumer to choose." With South Park drawing record audiences and Ellison betting big on streaming, Paramount is gambling that sharp satire and bold moves will not just survive in the new media order—they’ll thrive.
As the dust settles from Paramount’s dramatic transformation, one thing’s for sure: the battle for the soul—and the bottom line—of American media is far from over.
