Simpsons World

DIS INFORMATION

The Simpsons on a couch binge-watching.

Disney+ has finally added a live, 24/7, commercial-free Simpsons channel – excuse me, “Stream” with a capital S – freeing users from the tyranny of having to select a specific episode, a brilliant innovation that FXX’s Simpsons World service had over a decade ago.

From the press release:

Beginning today, Disney+ will add a new 24/7 always-on Stream for THE SIMPSONS with 767 episodes across seasons 1-35 programmed in chronological order at launch. This means a total of nearly 300 continuous hours with the Simpsons family.

“From day one, the fans have asked for a Stream of THE SIMPSONS, and we’re happy to oblige,” said Gabe Lewis, SVP of Programming & Content Curation, Disney+. “Streams on Disney+ have been a fantastic go-to experience for subscribers looking to sit back and relax with their favorite shows and movies, and we look forward to evolving the user experience and expanding the offering with more Streams, to more subscribers, later this year.”

“THE SIMPSONS Stream will deliver a SIMPSONS marathon all day, every day — no matter when you tune in, this ultimate SIMPSONS binge will be there,” added Matt Selman, THE SIMPSONS Show-runner and Binge-watcher.

As a pedant I appreciate that they specifically say 767 episodes and never claim to have “every episode,” as “Stark Raving Dad” remains out of circulation. Though this seemingly implies the two Disney+ exclusive episodes (“O C’mon All Ye Faithful” and “The Past and the Furious”) don’t count.

“The Simpsons Stream,” which I guess is its official name, appears to have gone live at noon Eastern time, and is currently airing episodes in sequential order. The press release also says the programming will be “refreshed monthly” so maybe once it completes Season 35 it will become more random. Amazingly, the pre-HD episodes are in the proper 4:3 aspect ratio, even if you have selected otherwise. Currently it is limited to Disney+ users on the premium (ad-free) plan in the United States.

Back in 2014, the Internet went crazy for FXX’s “Every. Simpsons. Ever.” marathon, where everybody could watch and post about the currently-airing episode live. Could history repeat itself? Sure, this simple livestream was like created to boost viewership metrics ahead of Disney’s Q2 earnings report in May. But maybe, just maybe, it could unite and heal a divided nation.

DIS INFORMATION

An image of the Simpsons and Apu from one of the video games running in the speedforce.

Remember when you watched The Simpsons in syndication and you could just enjoy a random episode, without the burden of having to consciously pick one? What if instead of being limited to one episode per evening (or perhaps two or even three depending on your TV market), the show was constantly airing 24/7? Well, that could become a reality sooner rather than later if streaming analysts’ predictions hold true.

Now that the streaming business model has imploded, the studios have realized that the linear TV model it disrupted wasn’t so bad after all and are eager to recoup their lost revenue by getting into FAST (free, ad-supported television) channels, which are essentially fake TV channels with commercials you can stream, many of which are dedicated to one show. Some even have their own services featuring these channels: Paramount has Pluto TV and Paramount+, Fox Corporation has Tubi, NBC Universal has Peacock, and Amazon has Freevee. Warner Bros. Discovery is launching their own service later this year. Even Netflix has hinted at getting in the game.

Disney has had an ABC News Live channel for years, and in May they added a few FAST channels on the ABC app, but so far they haven’t made any major waves in that space. Streaming analysts have mused on the viability of Disney embracing the FAST market and posit that a Simpsons channel would be a no-brainer.

Next TV:

The real question around Disney’s decision to launch an ad-supported Disney Plus offering isn’t whether it’s a good move. Rather, it’s when are they going to take the next step and launch a free ad-supported streaming TV service (FAST) that can compete with Paramount’s Pluto TV, NBCU’s Peacock and Fox’s Tubi?

Vulture:

Of course, the other possibility here is that rather than go for a quick buck now and sell to outside ad-supported platforms, Disney could just launch its own FAST service, as Warner Bros. Discovery is exploring. I don’t think it would make much sense to put anything too obviously Disney on such a platform as it might cheapen the brand. But a service which leaned heavily on the 20th titles, as well as content from ABC (including ABC News), could be a winner.

MarketWatch:
Additionally, internal FAST channels from other streaming companies — such as a “Simpsons” or Marvel channel for Disney+, or a teen-drama channel for Netflix — could be coming sooner than you think.

The Streamable:

The first 10 seasons are widely regarded to be the show’s best and would make perfect fodder for a dedicated single-series FAST channel. Disney+ could keep newer seasons behind a paywall, and still have plenty of content for such a channel.

What’s interesting about The Simpsons in particular is that they already were on FAST-like channels, as FX president John Landgraf mentioned in an interview:

When we bought The Simpsons, we built an app called Simpsons World that had every episode ever made in a perfectly searchable system. Then it had so-called channels, which were linear streams of Simpsons episodes. Eighty percent of the consumption was from the linear playlists, and 20 percent was on demand.

Here’s a screenshot of what those channels looked like, via Fast Company.

The Simpsons is already the most popular show on Disney+. Imagine what those viewership numbers would be if they added a channel that allowed you to drop in and just watch a random episode, freeing you from the tyranny of choice.

DIS INFORMATION, MY TWO CENTS

An image of Lisa Simpson holding up a phone from the short Plusaversary.

As Disney+ Day turns into Disney+ Night, I thought I’d toss off some thoughts about The Big D’s lackluster non-event.

Why wasn’t there a livestream? A few weeks ago DC Comics had their second annual “FanDome,” a multi-hour livestream that touched on all the company’s upcoming projects and culminated in a new trailer for The Batman. Disney couldn’t have done the same? Instead they just dripped out new announcements in a Twitter thread, and then there were a couple short presentations from Pixar and Marvel added to Disney+. Oh, and they mentioned the wrong Will Smith, who continued to be tagged in every subsequent tweet. Weirdly amateurish for something that was supposedly a big deal for the company. Apparently they went all out at the theme parks and had giant balloons in major cities to promote this???

As for the new Simpsons short… eh, whatever. Seems like maybe it could’ve been a decent series of commercials back when Disney+ launched. “Look, all your favorite characters are together in one place.” Why wasn’t that their marketing campaign? Ah well. Also, I suspect they were using a fake mockup of the service as reference and nobody ever bothered to correct them.

In general, I feel David Silverman’s talents are being squandered on these shorts. Disney+ should just give him a huge budget and let him go hog wild.

Speaking of Simpsons shorts, where are the original shorts from The Tracey Ullman Show? I know it’s a long shot but I was kind of hoping for an announcement. Back when FXX launched Simpsons World, they tried and failed to get them. Disney+ should do what Simpsons Worldn’t: figure out what’s going on with the rights, fire their giant money bazooka at the problem, and get them out there. Now that would be a Disney+ Day miracle.

MEANINGLESS MILESTONES, SPRINGFIELD SHOPPER

An image of the Simpsons Season 1 DVD cover.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons: The Complete First Season DVD boxset in North America (tip of the hat to illustrator Bill Mudron for mentioning this). It was, for a time, the best selling TV show on DVD until it was eclipsed by Chappelle’s Show a few years later. Now that physical media has been rendered a relic by streaming services, let’s take this opportunity to look back at what’s been lost.
Continue Reading →

SPRINGFIELD SHOPPER

Faulting a dying DVD market, Simpsons showrunner Al Jean announced yesterday that the show’s DVD and Blu-ray sets will be discontinued:


Continue Reading →

MY TWO CENTS

lisa simpson computer

Simpsons World, the much-anticipated Simpsons streaming service from FXX, just went live a few hours ago. Here’s my initial impressions of it. Please note I’m just using the web version, so I don’t know if there’s anything different about the mobile version.

Continue Reading →