UK fans of “The Simpsons” can rejoice, as Disney+ UK just announced the classic show will be available on Disney+ when the streaming service launches on March 24.
According to The Verge, Disney had to sort out international rights to “The Simpsons.” Though the company had exclusive streaming rights to the show in the U.S., in the UK, Sky had a licensing deal with 21st Century Fox, allowing them to stream the studio’s content, which included “The Simpsons.” But in 2018, once Disney and 21st Century Fox sold off Sky to Comcast, those streaming rights were also transferred off to Comcast.
However, due to the recent deal Disney+ struck with Sky to bring the streaming service to Sky Q and Now TV in the UK and Ireland, the show will now be available for UK subscribers.
“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, stated.
Grab yourself a D’oh-nut and stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/orfYKCYgKG
— Disney+ UK (@DisneyPlusUK) March 3, 2020
This isn’t the first time Disney has had to re-strategize in order to regain rights to some of their content. Back in November, The Verge also reported that they revised their deal with Starz in order to regain streaming rights to some of its titles. The agreement was that Disney had to run an ad for Starz when a user finishes signing-up on Disney+ and ESPN+.
In February, Disney+ announced customers can save if they subscribe to the streaming service ahead of the March 24 launch. Streamers in the UK (£49.99), Germany (€59.99), Italy (€59.99), Spain (€59.99), Ireland (€59.99), Austria (€59.99), and Switzerland (84.90 CHF) can save nearly 20 percent on an annual subscription in the pre-sale.
Additional Western Europe markets, including Belgium, the Nordics and Portugal, will follow in summer 2020.