Nov 18, 2013

FXX to Offer "Simpsons" Reruns on Demand

FXX, a spin-off of Fox Broadcasting Company's youth-oriented cable TV station FX, has acquired the cable rights to The Simpsons. The major significance of the deal is that the full digital rights were also sold to FXX, which will make 530 episodes of The Simpsons to date available on demand through FXNOW, a mobile streaming app that FXX will soon release.

20th Century Fox TV initially requested $1.5 million per episode. After a bidding war between several networks, it ultimately received approximately $1.25 million per episode; FXX and 20th Century Fox TV are owned by the same parent company, 21st Century Fox. However, the syndication rights to the show are also owned by the show's creators and producers, including Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, who stand to benefit handsomely from the deal. For more on the deal, see the Wall Street Journal and Deadline.com.