FXX has landed exclusive rights to air The Simpsons on cable and Video On Demand (VOD).
According to Deadline, this deal is the priciest off-network pack made, coming in at $750 million. FXX’s deal will also include full digital rights, a first for any deal. The price tag may go as far as $1 billion if The Simpsons keeps producing new seasons. There will be 530 episodes when FXX begins airing in August 2014. That number will grow to 574 the following year.
At the start, FXX will have access to the first 24 seasons. Season 25 will become available on FXX when Season 26 premieres on Fox next September. This many episodes will keep episodes from repeating for several months.
The details of the deal have not been disclosed. FX Networks CEO John Landgraf claims the deal was possible due to FX Networks COO Chuck Saftler’s “relentlessness and diligence.”
“This is a historic deal for FXX and FX Networks and I don’t believe there will ever be another one like it,” Saftler, FX Networks COO Saftler, said.
FX Networks’ Chris Antola, and Twentieth TV’s Greg Meidel, Steve MacDonald and Lori Bernstein also negotiated the deal along with Saftler.