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The Simpsons in the UK

(April 2020)

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JA
JAS84
Because Sky wasn't available to everyone. Especially in the 90s. It's not uncommon for shows to be on a satellite channel and a terrestrial one.
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NW
nwtv2003
Probably a question that was asked years ago, but why is The Simpsons on Channel 4 and Sky One? I always wondered that when I was little.


It goes back to when the show was on Sky One only, my understanding is (and I’m happy to be corrected) is that the BBC were offered the series in the early 1990’s but they declined the show. When the BBC picked up the show in 1996, it had been running on Sky for 6 years by this point. Obviously Sky didn’t want to let the likes of the BBC to get first showings of new episodes. So at that time the BBC got the rights to the first three seasons, and Sky had the rest.

As time went on the BBC eventually got the rights to newer episodes, with them usually 4 years behind Sky (except for The Trouble With Trillions, which the BBC showed not long after Sky), and then Sky started to show again some of the older series, and then alternated series. Channel 4 picked up the rights from 2004 and carried on what the BBC had done. The only difference with Channel 4, is that they had a phase of repeating them on 4Seven and now they’re on catch up on All4.
TI
TIGHazard
Probably a question that was asked years ago, but why is The Simpsons on Channel 4 and Sky One? I always wondered that when I was little.


Simply a hold over from the 90's, when some shows would premiere on Satellite/Cable, then trickle down to Terrestrial later.

As such, The Simpsons was on Sky One (from 1990), and then the BBC from 1996 (mainly BBC2 but they did try it on 1 at first, and there was a repeat of S1 that aired on Live & Kicking in 2000)

Then Channel 4 got the rights in 2004.
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BR
Brekkie
That's the way TV used to be - shows that premiered on Sky would usually get a FTA airing, but usually months rather than years later.
LH
lhx1985
Still is, to a point. First-run on a pay-TV channel and then into what the Americans would refer to as syndication.

Look at shows like NCIS. At one point you could watch it first-run on FoxUK, then on Channel 5 (and its siblings) and probably again on one of the ChelloZone/CBS channels.

It seemed to become less of a thing in/around the early 2000s with series like 24 and Lost, with Sky hoovering up rights across Pay and FTA.
UK
UKnews
It seemed to become less of a thing in/around the early 2000s with series like 24 and Lost, with Sky hoovering up rights across Pay and FTA.


There was a - I think publicly stated - change of strategy from Sky around 2005 / 2006 where they bought the FTA rights as well. They felt they weren’t getting the value if a FTA channel could show the series 6 months later as a lot of people were just prepared to wait.

Worth remembering the main (if not only) reason E4 started was so that C4 could have a pay TV outlet for Friends and ER. Around 1998 Sky had nabbed the pay TV rights and got to show them first. C4 couldn’t afford (or justify) buying the pay TV rights without an outlet for them, so when the rights came up again they put in a big bid - and took other Warner Bros produced shows like The West Wing, bought the pay TV rights for Dawson’s Creek and Ally McBeal to add to them as well - and created E4 as their pay TV channel to show them.
Last edited by UKnews on 28 May 2020 7:09pm
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PF
PFML84
The 4:3 Simpsons is now on Disney+. On the home screen for the show go to details and untick the “remastered” option. The handy thing is you still get them remastered in HD so they look better /cleaner but not cropped to 16:9 so no jokes are missing or character heads half missing.
VM
VMPhil
The 4:3 Simpsons is now on Disney+. On the home screen for the show go to details and untick the “remastered” option. The handy thing is you still get them remastered in HD so they look better /cleaner but not cropped to 16:9 so no jokes are missing or character heads half missing.

So it still looks like someone went over the lines badly with a felt tip pen, just without cropping? If so, pass.
PF
PFML84
That’s less obvious as the footage isn’t zoomed in on.
WH
Whataday Founding member
The 4:3 Simpsons is now on Disney+. On the home screen for the show go to details and untick the “remastered” option. The handy thing is you still get them remastered in HD so they look better /cleaner but not cropped to 16:9 so no jokes are missing or character heads half missing.

So it still looks like someone went over the lines badly with a felt tip pen, just without cropping? If so, pass.


No, they look cleaner but I wouldn't say they've been 'remastered' in that way.
XI
Xilla
That's the way TV used to be - shows that premiered on Sky would usually get a FTA airing, but usually months rather than years later.


I remember it was the other way around for King of the Hill - C4 showed that first and Sky 1 got it a few months later.

IIRC C4 stayed ahead until halfway through Series 3 when they suddenly took a break and Sky were able to overtake.
NW
nwtv2003
The 4:3 Simpsons is now on Disney+. On the home screen for the show go to details and untick the “remastered” option. The handy thing is you still get them remastered in HD so they look better /cleaner but not cropped to 16:9 so no jokes are missing or character heads half missing.

So it still looks like someone went over the lines badly with a felt tip pen, just without cropping? If so, pass.


No, they look cleaner but I wouldn't say they've been 'remastered' in that way.


This, they look like as they were broadcast originally, if not like a sharp DVD quality of an episode.

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