Disney's Fox Deal - 10 Properties That Will Be Selling Points For Disney+
4. The Simpsons & Family Guy
Late last year, Netflix paid $100 million dollars to keep the rights to Friends, arguably the biggest sitcom of all time, on their platform for another year, after which it will likely be used by its owners Time Warner as the centrepiece for yet another streaming service. The rights to no other show have been worth that much, but had they ever been available then you’d have to think that The Simpsons would’ve come close. The Springfield-dwelling family have now been on screens for thirty years and there will be 661 episodes following the conclusion of their ongoing thirtieth season.
Disney will be now able to drop all of these onto Disney+ in one fell swoop should they so desire, instantly giving audiences access to one of the most popular television shows in the world, which has never had a regular home on any streaming platform up to this point. This would attract casual fans of the show who want to watch the odd episode here and there (or those wanting to relive the glory days of earlier seasons) as well as diehards who want to watch the whole lot.
The Fox deal also gives Disney the rights to the majority of Futurama, American Dad and most notably Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane’s Simpsons rival, which is still attracting around three million viewers per episode in its seventeenth season. Such an animated comedy offering cannot be matched by any competitor.