South Park Headed To The Web

[Brian Damage]

Even as TV producers continue locking horns over the actual value of the Internet during the WGA contract negotiations, Viacom has made another smart move regarding what content to put up on the web for free. Starting next year, every clip from every episode—ever!—of South Park will be available online, in a format reportedly similar to that of The Daily Show at ComedyCentral.com.

Since the Daily Show clips went up in October, according to The Hollywood Reporter, viewership has been up for the actual show (at least before the strike, I presume. MTV Networks (which owns Comedy Central) chairwoman and CEO Judy McGrath said that the online content only benefited the TV airing, saying “That is kind of our hat trick.” Clearly this is a lady who does not know her sports, since a hat trick generally involves three successes, not just two, but you get the point.

Viacom is being remarkably smart about picking what content goes up on the web, and in what format. Sure, the full episodes of South Park are great on their own, but half of everyone’s memories of the show are “The one with the gerbil” or “The first time you meet the Christmas Poo.” Sifting through full episodes for single, brilliant moments would be tedious and probably never come up with what you’re looking for. South Park episodes don’t divide into neat segments the way The Daily Show does, but sometimes a little bit of South Park can go a long, long way.

Of course, this move will make it even harder for Viacom to look at the writers and say “But look! We’re not making any money off the Internet!” But it’s not like anyone was really buying that argument to begin with. Hopefully the strike will get itself resolved in time for me to catch one of Kenny’s many, glorious deaths online without feeling guilty about it.