The Simpsons will stream on Disney Plus in the UK
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Disney Plus’ launch in the UK has been solved: The Simpsons will be available to stream.
A Sky representative told The Verge that “The Simpsons will remain on Sky co-exclusive for new [seasons] and including the back catalogue.” When asked if back seasons will be shared between Sky and Disney Plus, the representative confirmed that to be true. A tweet from Disney confirms more than 600 episodes will be available to stream. There are currently just over 670 episodes of The Simpsons right now, so it’s safe to assume it’s nearly every episode if not every episode.
Much like other popular properties in Disney’s arsenal, streaming rights to The Simpsons were tied up in licensing hell. Although Disney owns the full rights to stream The Simpsons in the United States, thanks to its acquisition of 21st Century Fox, those rights didn’t extend overseas.
Sky, the UK satellite provider, was sold off to Comcast by 21st Century Fox and Disney in 2018. Since Sky previously secured the rights to Fox content, including The Simpsons, those rights transferred to Comcast. The sale gave Comcast an entry point into some of Europe’s biggest markets, including Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Italy. Sky struck a multiyear deal with Disney today, however, bringing Disney Plus to Sky’s Q boxes. Prior to Disney Plus, the Netflix app was also integrated into Sky Q set-top boxes.
“We’ve built a strong partnership with Disney over three decades and we’re pleased that our customers in the UK and Ireland can continue to enjoy their world-class content – all in one place on Sky Q,” Jeremy Darroch, Sky CEO, said in a statement.
For a while, it seemed like The Simpsons wouldn’t be available on Disney Plus in the UK because of the rights issue. Sky’s managing director of content, Zai Bennett, told BBC Radio 5 last week that “for the immediate term, for the next year or so, our customers will not notice any difference at all to what they have got” when it comes to The Simpsons.
The move suggests that Disney has engaged in hefty licensing agreements, similar to negotiations Disney entered into with various companies before Disney Plus launched in the United States. In order to get Star Wars: The Force Awakens back before Disney Plus launched, the company worked with Starz on a deal advertising its competitor’s streaming service in a one-time promotion.
A Disney executive also told The Verge in the lead-up to Disney Plus at an event in November that negotiations were ongoing to ensure that Disney Plus would have as many Marvel titles as possible at launch. As a result, Disney went from previously announcing under 10 Marvel movies to having nearly all 23 on the service by launch.
The last remaining question is whether The Simpsons’ aspect ratio will be fixed by March 24th. Disney still hasn’t resolved the issue in the United States.
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Disney Plus’ launch in the UK has been solved: The Simpsons will be available to stream. A Sky representative told The Verge that “The Simpsons will remain on Sky co-exclusive for new [seasons] and including the back catalogue.” When asked if back seasons will…
