‘South Park’ Season 27 Premiere Draws Nearly 6M Viewers, Marks Franchise’s Biggest Cable Share Since 1999

Amid lawsuits, mergers, political pressure, social media smack talk, and a pissed off president, South Park returned in a big way this summer, with its Season 27 premiere episode “Sermon on the ‘Mount” pulling in 5.9 million cross-platform viewers across Comedy Central and Paramount+. It was the show’s most-watched premiere in years and its biggest cable share for a season opener since 1999.

In a tremendous example of the Streisand Effect – where an attempt to hide, remove, or censor information inadvertently leads to increased public awareness of that information – the uptick in viewership coincides with White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers saying of the S27 premiere: “This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.” Comedy Central should almost be required to pay royalties for that kind of PR.

Facing a rapidly shifting animation landscape, South Park stands out as a rare legacy hit still capable of gaining momentum by tapping into the current cultural zeitgeist. The show continues to thrive across both traditional and digital platforms in a way that few others could hope to do, perhaps justifying the recent $1.5 billion price tag paid for the show by Paramount+.

Ratings & Social Performance Highlights for “Sermon on the ‘Mount”:

• 5.9 million cross-platform viewers (Comedy Central, Paramount+)
• Biggest linear season premiere share since 1999
• +68% increase in share vs. Season 26 premiere (9.20 vs. 5.48)
• +15% increase in rating vs. Season 26 premiere (0.996 vs. 0.866)
• #1 cable telecast on Wednesday night
• #1 most social episode ever for South Park
• #1 most social program across all TV on Wednesday
• #SouthPark trended on X (formerly Twitter) for 12+ hours, peaking at #1 for 5 hours

The surge in viewership and engagement shows South Park remains culturally potent, despite the contestations of some high-profile PR representatives.

An encore airing of the premiere ran on July 30 on Comedy Central, with episode two delayed by one week. The next new episode will premiere on Wednesday, August 6, with streaming available the next day on Paramount+.