whoo-hoo After a few weeks of tense negotiations with the show’s voice actors, “The Simpsons” will have two more full seasons before it finally goes into syndication heaven — making for 25 full years.
d’oh The negotiations centered on a fight over giving the voice actors back-end profits, which appears to be something they weren’t able to get. Also, fans of the show may just want to see it end. source
what “The Simpsons” is facing some significant budgetary issues, and Fox is trying to figure out a way to cut costs so the show remains profitable. If it can’t, the 23-year-old show, which predates every other scripted show on the prime-time schedule, will face cancellation.
why The big problem is that the voice actors on the show, who fought for higher wages (and won) many times, are being asked to take significant cuts in salary (they make $8 million per year), which they’re fighting. Also, it probably doesn’t help that ratings are down. source
» Putting the D’oh out to pasture? The Simpsons is still widely-regarded, but with roughly 500 episodes under its belt, Fox may be ready for the next step in the “Simpsons” phenomenon — its own cable network. It’d be interesting if the salary battle is really an excuse to end “The Simpsons” outright.
They certainly have enough episodes to pull it off. One of News Corp.‘s greatest pieces of entertainment could eventually become a franchise all its own. With the series likely to pass the 500-episode mark with its upcoming 23rd season, Fox is reportedly talking about a long-term plan for the franchise, involving a cable network of its own. Obviously, they wouldn’t be able to do this right away — most of the series is embedded in long-term syndication deals — but once those expire, a single network approach might prove to be more financially sound as the series reaches its point of quarter-life crisis. So how would this work, anyway? Let’s do a quick number breakdown:
245length, in hours, of the series' current 486 episodes, plus "The Simpsons Movie," with commercials
10.2number of days that would manage to fill up, including commercials, before you'd run into a show repeat
35.7number of times the network would cycle through every single episode, plus a movie, in a single year source
» So, what do you guys think? Is a network built around a single show, even one as diverse and far-reaching as “The Simpsons,” something you’d watch? Or would it be like the original MTV — where everyone loved the idea of it, but didn’t necessarily stick with it? We’re not sure, but there are probably some pretty killer OWN Network jokes they could make if Fox did this.
Here’s the surprising thing: The ad itself is pretty innocuous. It depicts an Obama bobblehead being pushed into a fishbowl by a Jesus bobblehead, apparently by way of telekinesis (it’s a bit unclear). All in good fun, right? And all that’s being advertised is a comedy website that peddles anti-Obama mugs, T-shirts, and (presumably) bobbleheads. So why the controversy? Well, the website is called “Jesus Hates Obama.” So, yeah. Probably not gonna fly during the biggest television event of the year. (We should note that, according to the site’s front page, they don’t actually believe that Jesus hates Obama; it’s just a provocative title to catch people’s eyes). source
14number of days the cable network stalemate went on
3Mnumber of customers affected by the cable stalemate
eightMLB playoff games (and two weeks of football) went off the air source
» Why did the stalemate last so long? Well, Cablevision wanted regulatory intervention from the government, who wanted the two companies to decide things for themselves. Usually, these things last two days, tops. And it’s possible that the long stalemate has hurt Fox’s overall ratings, which are down 17 percent from a year ago. To both of these companies: Who benefits from this?
The question becomes, how long is it going to last and who’s going to blink first?
BTIG media analyst Richard Greenfield • Regarding Cablevision’s dropping of local Fox network stations from its lineup in a financial dispute. Who gets hurt when giant media companies fight over stupid crap like money? Sports fans, of course. If this isn’t resolved by Sunday, they could lose a number of football games. If it’s not settled by tonight, they could lose game one of the NLCS – especially problematic because the Philadelphia Phillies are in the series and Cablevision covers mostly Philly and NYC. We know you babies love being right and winning a war over money, but most people don’t like being inconvenienced. source
You can’t be serious. it’s like you’re hiding this. Banksy’s “Simpsons” couch sequence has been the talk of the Web all day. It packs a visceral effect that wears off after the first time, but it mainly works because it’s so out of left field – even for the Simpsons. Anyway, the video that everyone was linking from a YouTube channel called “banksyfilm” – you know, Banksy’s own account. Now it’s been taken down for copyright reasons and people have been told to watch it on Hulu, which, besides the country restrictions, is annoying because they initially didn’t even have the Banksy intro pulled out as a clip. The effect feels akin to censorship, considering the very viral subject matter can no longer be viewed in Asia. (Fortunately, we found another version.) source
Fox is ditching the series, but a movie could be forthcoming. Jack Bauer fans, prepare to let go. Fox’s signature action series is going to end at the end of this season, capping a key period in the network’s history. Part of it was declining ratings, but a bigger part was that eight seasons of the hour-by-hour format got a little formulaic and difficult to keep up. “We’ve really had what feels like our last day,” said executive producer Howard Gordon. Kiefer Sutherland may enjoy playing another character – he reportedly spends 10 months a year working on “24.” source
