Don't Have a Cow Man, 'The Simpsons' Gets Multiyear Deal With Sohu

Kipp Whittaker | Sep 12, 2014 2:49 pm | Add a comment | 1884 reads

Ay caramba! The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that The Simpsons are officially arriving in China. This is their first licensing deal in the mainland with the online viewing platform Sohu.com, and will include the premiere of their 26th season on Sep 28.

As the longest running scripted show in television history, with 574 episodes (about that of South Park and Family Guy combined), it hasn't lost it's mass appeal even if it's been on auto-pilot for the greater part of a decade.

Charles Zhang, chairman and CEO of Sohu.com stated that "the introduction of The Simpsons, a household name in the U.S., will further enrich our users' choice of the best American content when they come to our platform. This deal once again demonstrates our commitment in bringing the best experience to our users and tireless efforts to enhance our competitive edges in the industry."

In a more appropriate response to the deal, Al Jean, the show's executive producer, responded with "Woo hoo! Now we can finally reveal Springfield is actually in Guangdong Province." I wonder if they will they will toss or include episode 12, from the 16th season on the site.

In related news, all video streaming sites operating out of China will soon be required to register all foreign TV content and films available for streaming, and it must maintain a ratio under 30% of the site's total. Registration of all foreign media must be completed by March, followed by approval to make sure it’s suitable for mass consumption.

This means that about 50% of all shows on these streaming sites will most likely be those unintentionally funny anti-Japanese wartime dramas, as it currently holds about 70% of the mainlands TV and Film market. So get use to that over the top wartime violence fueling the fire in East Asia.

 

More events to keep you entertained this week:

 

Photos: www.senscritique.com, simpsonswiki.com