Fox Says It Will Fight to Keep THE SIMPSONS on FOX After Disney Buys Them

As I outlined in another article, with Disney acquiring Fox, they are getting a lot of franchises including The Simpsons. The Simpsons is a big winner for Fox which is why it’s not surprising that they’re planning on fighting to keep the show on their network. It sounds like Fox is willing to part with the franchise, but they’re trying to keep Disney from moving The Simpsons to one of Disney’s networks like ABC. Dana Walden said:

“Simpsons is so much a part of the brand. There’s been such an incredible halo effect of that show and the other animated series that are on our Sunday night. There are no plans for them to go anywhere other than FOX.

We have a couple years of episodes already in progress on The Simpsons. So down the line, what kind of decision is made I can’t really speak to. But for the foreseeable future, there’s so much upside and benefit to having a great Emmy Award-winning, smart, provocative, quality show, that there’s no consideration of not ordering more Simpsons.

As long as we’ve all been in the business, networks have licensed shows they don’t have ownership of. The Simpsons generates lots of revenue and opportunities off network through consumer products and otherwise, and I feel confident that Disney and FOX are going to find a way to both have an interest in that show, and I anticipate it continuing to stay on the FOX network.”

Do you think Disney will let Fox keep The Simpsons on their network, or will Disney force it to ABC or one of their other networks? Looks like Disney has a big piece of leverage.