South Park Studios Streams Full Episodes

Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and Viacom have made good on their promise to make full episodes of South Park available online. You can now catch all 169 (and counting) episodes from 12 seasons dating back to the August 13, 1997 network premiere and spanning to whatever aired last week at your one-stop shop, SouthParkStudios.com. 

The video could use a tune-up, but the rest of the experience runs smoothly, with only a couple 15-second spots during each episode, and easy navigation. Alas, no embeds, but you can toggle to full-screen and bonus – bad words aren’t bleeped. (Aside: How much longer will that kind of web language last before it’s regulated?)

Less than six months ago, MTV Networks announced its plans to launch two dozen targeted websites early this year to function as online destinations for niche communities and already popular TV shows. Unless I’m overlooking a big part of the Internet, they came up way short of 24. But there are at least three online extensions of television programs that make the execs at MTV look like they know what they’re doing.

South Park Studios, TheDailyShow.com, and JackassWorld.com all offer fans multiple ways to interact with the shows and watch full episodes on-demand. MTV Networks Chairman and Chief Exectuive Judy McGrath notes that having the shows available online doesn’t hurt television ratings. It helps. Like Steve says, “duh.”