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'The Simpsons' is heading into cable syndication after estimated $750 million deal with FXX

'The Simpsons' is heading into cable syndication after estimated $750 million deal with FXX

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The Simpsons
The Simpsons

After 24 full seasons and only weeks into its 25th, The Simpsons is finally heading to cable. In an unheard of deal expected to hit $750 million, Fox's fledgling network FXX will have exclusive cable and digital rights to the series massive catalog of 530 episodes starting August 2014.

The term of the landmark deal is a decade, which means audiences can conservatively expect another 10 years of the longest running comedy show on television. According to Deadline, FXX is expected to pay upwards of $1.25 million per week to offer the show on-demand and via the network's upcoming FXNow app, due out next month. FXX will be able to broadcast new episodes a season after their initial run, with the catalog growing to 574 episodes by September 2015.

The news follows a TV Guide report in July that stated that Fox was shopping the rights to run the series on cable for an incredible $1 billion.

FXX is banking big with this deal

The Simpsons has been on broadcast television its entire run, but, according to Variety, never entered cable syndication because of restrictions written into contracts with local stations set back in the early '90s and because of how muscular a brand the show has become over the years. FXX is clearly banking big on growing its business with this unprecedented deal. The network is now only two months old, and, though it boasts big draws like the super-raunchy The League and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphiait just cancelled its late night offering Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell earlier this week.