The team behind "The Simpsons" has been making the world laugh for nearly a quarter of a century, and now they are about to get paid.
Earlier this month, the producers of America's favorite cartoon family signed a massive contract to go into syndication on FXX — Fox's premium offshoot of its already popular cable channel FX. Variety reports that the deal is worth approximately $750 million, which makes it the most expensive off-network deal in television history.
It isn't known if the studio executives said "careful, hot pen!" before the contract was signed, or if it was established that money can be exchanged for goods and services during the negotiation process. It also isn't known if the deal will make the producers rich enough so they can own an all-gold house, or if hired goons will have to get involved if there is a breach in contract. One thing is for sure though — the fans are the ones who will most benefit from this agreement.
All 24 previous seasons of "The Simpsons" will be available, and that's big news for fans. Given Fox's tendency to only show episodes of the last three years in syndication, this could be an opportunity for non-DVD owners to see some of their favorite classics for the first time in years.
The deal does not mention anything about Netflix. Although many Fox and FX shows are available for streaming on the popular site, "The Simpsons" massive library of episodes have not found their way there yet. That's a contract for another day.
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