Fox Sells Simpsons Re-Run Rights For $1 Billion

Now that’s a lot of D’oh!

In an agreement possibly worth north of $1 billion and dubbed by Fox executives one of the biggest television syndication deals ever, repeats of every single episode of “The Simpsons” arrive on cable next August.

Not shockingly, 20th Century Fox Television, the studio that produces TV’s longest running comedy, has sold the cable rights to its new comedy-themed sister channel, FXX.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Fox executives said that FXX landed the series after an itense bidding war with TBS and Comedy Central, paying possibly around $1 billion for rights.

TV industry analysts estimate a FXX will pay between $1 million and $2 million an episode, turning the payday into a windfall worth anywhere between $550 million to more than $1 billion.

Among those riding the money train are series creators Matt Groening and James Brooks, who own stakes in the series.

A studio source said that Fox is not expecting the deal to generate the kind of animosity that led to a lawsuit and David Duchovny’s departure from the “X-Files” when he sued the studio, claiming the studio had lowballed the price of his show — which he owned a stake in — when repeats were sold to FX in 1999.

The show is expected to remain airing on local stations in syndication, as part of a 25-year-old deal Fox made with its affiliates when “The Simpsons” first debuted



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