Rypro 525

from tvbythenumbers.com

FXX has paid 750 million dollars for syndication rights to The Simpsons. The extraordinarily popular series has never had a lucrative cable syndication deal before because when it launched in syndication back in the 1990s its deal limited it to local broadcast affiliates. That deal finally expired this fall and a bidding war commenced. The fledgling FXX was the winner. FXX will begin airing The Simpsons in August 2014. The deal also gives FXX VOD rights to the show and covers the first 24 seasons of the longrunning series.

Since they will have nearly 600 episodes to air, including the classic seasons, this prob means FXX will unofficially become the Simpsons network with a few original series' here and there

RichC2

I mentioned this in the TV ratings thread, but I think it's less FXX becoming the legendary Simpsons channel and more FX setting its position in the Streaming world. With this they are allowed to offer the first 24 seasons, starting August 2014, on VOD all at the same time.

Add that to their movie pick-ups (This year alone: Gravity, Thor: The Dark World, Captain Phillips, Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, Despicable Me 2, Fast & Furious 6, Star Trek Into Darkness, World War Z, The Croods, The Heat, Identity Thief, Grown Ups 2, The Wolverine, Pacific Rim)

And FX Now could be quite a force to be reckoned with in a couple years.

Deftones

isn't this like Fox paying for the Simpsons twice? one of the front end, one on the back end.

RichC2

The way the studios are setup, who knows.

My Other Self

I wonder if the voice cast will get anything out of this. All of the paycuts they've taken over the past few negotiation sessions to keep the show running says a lot.

windom

Will this get me an HD version of FXX on my Comcast any sooner?

MrSmearkase

/\ Better yet, will this move FXX into the same pricing tier as FX on FiOS?

My Other Self

I doubt it. They moved the channel on DTV but it's still in the same package.

I don't think it's available in HD on Comcast here, either.

madcougar

I realized that my local Fox channel isn't showing the Simpsons anymore. Amazing that this show keeps making money hand over fist on episodes that are more than 20 years old.

I've always wondered why the Simpsons wasn't shown on any cable channel.

Quatermass

It's too bad they had to whack Marcia Wallace to close the deal.

Guru Askew

It's funny because she really died from breast cancer.

wz42

Hmmm...the local Toronto station that airs it daily isnt anymore either. But a different station that airs it as weekend afternoon filler still does (at least tmr).

I checked a few articles in Google News...none make mention one way or another for if it'll still be on OTA as well.

sherm42

Reminds me of the X-Files deal that resulted in a lawsuit from some who owned rights to syndication profits who claimed that Fox sold the rights essentially to itself for less than it could have gotten on the open market. With 600 episodes at 750 mil, that's just over a mil an episode.

Abob Teff

Which was caused by the lead-based ink used in the cartoon ...

PhantomStranger

It probably happened again. Fox could have likely gotten more money from another network.

Eric F

It's official then, Fox has given up on FXX.

GoldenJCJ

I remember when FX was getting off the ground and it was basically the all M*A*S*H all the time network.

majorjoe23

I remember watching at the beginning, things like Sound FX and Jeff Probst hosting a show answering emails from viewers.

Rypro 525

the original syndication deal in the mid 90s essentially meant that the simpsons could not air on cable syndication "as long as the show was still on the air" that deal expired this year. And the show will go until at least 2015, probably longer

LorenzoL

I guess that means that Hulu Plus will no longer air episodes of the current season any longer too?

Nick Danger

Yeah, I get suspicious when a company cashes out three quarters of a billion dollars from one of its subsidiaries.

My Other Self

Yeah, I think this makes it more legit. They're trying to stabilize FXX in to their comedy branded network, so this obviously works for its purpose.
The deal says the first 24 seasons, so I wouldn't see why not. Doesn't Fox still have a stake in Hulu?

writer106

I remember that and they also aired reruns of Beverly Hills 90210

My Other Self

FX used to air all sorts of older sitcoms and dramas. I remember when they were airing Batman '66 and The A-Team.

RoyalTea

Simpsons Marathon is about to begin.