News Corp has spent most of 2011 floundering badly beneath the weight of the inoperable public relations tumour caused by the World Of The News phone hacking scandal, but now the company might have gone beyond the point of repair after threatening to cancel one of the most culturally significant and rad television shows of all time, The Simpsons.
After 23 years on tv, we could be waving a four-fingered goodbye to the Simpsons family after News Corp subsidiary Fox Television have revealed the series will be canceled unless the voice cast take a massive 45% pay cut.
In an official statement Fox said: “We believe this brilliant series can and should continue, but we cannot produce future seasons under its current financial model. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the voice cast that allows ‘The Simpsons’ to go on entertaining audiences with original episodes for many years to come.”
The pay ultimatum seems a little convenient after the Fox Network’s recent announcement that they are considering creating a new channel devoted entirely to the show. With 23 years, thousands of episodes and widespread international syndication in hand, maybe Fox is able to make enough off The Simpson’s to make cancellation a more sustainable option.
Bye bye, Homer evolution…
Via Reuters
