Al Jean: No further seasons of The Simpsons will be released on DVD

Didn't they go back to some of the early writers for the movie?

 

Makes me wonder what the Complete Series box set will look like whenever it will wrap....which at this rate may not be till 2040

 

Catching up reading all pages of this thread:
It's ironic reading your comment doubting they'd replace any of the actors since I'd just read in Rolling Stone that Harry Shearer - the voice of 100 characters - is leaving.
I wonder if the powers that be made any serious effort to keep him, or if they just scoffed and confidently assumed the Franchise would just lumber on...
And I'd thought the show wouldn't be the same after we lost the amazing Phil Hartman....

 

I'd read the main cast (minus Shearer) is signed up for 2 more seasons. Considering the brouhaha that Fux stirred up a few years ago, by dragging their feet when negotiating contracts with the cast (IIRC over residuals for DVD, BR, network and cable broadcast, etc), we'll probably hear "end of the Simpsons" warnings in a year or so.

When to comes to corporate marketing, sometimes my inner cynic surfaces. Obviously, withholding any new physical media may, just may, push the starving hardcore fans to SimpsonsWorldDomination.net or whatever.
In a sense, comic-strip teasing the fans.
In media-speak, direct eyeball traffic to an expanding market.
And then guess what?
After they've gotten _____ thousands logged in with their email addresses, they'll have A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT proclaiming the long awaited and much demanded - by YOU the fans!!! of .... What did that sharp exec Al Jean slyly hint? "A master box". No, it will be A HUGE STINKING BART-IN-YOUR-FACE limited edition numbered to _____ mega box of 99 DVDs for the bargain price of $499.99!
(You can buy a optional box case to house all the CDs - either a Lard Lad Doughnuts box, a Springfield schoolhouse box, or Treehouse of Horror hollow stump. ONLY $49.99 more!!!)
All seasons included! Plus - Yes, wait for it - even including the rare sought after Seasons 18 and 19!!! Hooray!
First come first served!
Place you order now, and the product will be shipped to you as soon as it's ready! (Mind you, Fox can easily just do it's own crowdfunding on it's own site.)
Keep checking the website for more exciting announcements!

 

I do... I think it's best when you have the option to buy a product in the format of your choice...

 

FTW!

 

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Simpsons-simpsons-sales-numbers-examined/21379

For those of you hoping for good news, we're sorry, instead you'll find the op-ed piece below.

Al Jean, showrunner on The Simpsons, made news back in April when he tweeted that they wouldn't release any more seasons of the show on DVD or Blu-ray. At the time that didn't make sense to us, so we went digging and guess what? It still doesn't make sense.

The Simpsons wrapped their 26th season in May, and have amassed a huge following over the years. Fans want to own the show on DVD, and Fox has released seasons 1-17, and season 20 on the format, starting in 2001 with the release of season 1. There's a gap between seasons 17 and 20 because Fox released season 20 on DVD and BD shortly after it aired in 2010, and they haven't gone back to fill in the hole, and it appears they never would.

It's no secret that DVD sales have dropped off, with many turning to streaming formats (also, because most of the good stuff has already been released), but it's a bit shocking that sales of The Simpsons would get to the point where they can't be released. The past few years has seen the rise of "Manufacture-on-Demand" (MOD) releases for shows that aren't popular enough for pressed discs, but still have enough of a following to turn a profit for the studios. Fox has released a number of shows on the MOD format, using it for shows that weren't as successful as they had hoped, but still want to release for fans. This is definitely an avenue that they could explore for The Simpsons, but they really shouldn't have to.

The fact is, The Simpsons DVDs are selling well enough that they should continue to be released on DVD. Season 17, which was released on December 2, 2014 has sold 55,032 copies on DVD, and 11,421 copies on Blu-ray according to Videoscan numbers (week ending July 12), and that's just for North America (don't forget The Simpsons is a global brand). I asked a studio representative at another company what he thought of those numbers and his response was "We would kill to have titles that sold like that." Yes, those numbers are approximately half of the sales of season 16, but the numbers are still excellent given the market today. I think there's more to this story than "sales numbers are poor." Maybe their sales expectations are too high and they would rather make no money off DVD sales than less money.

Something isn't adding up here because 66,000+ units of a show shouldn't be considered "poor sales." Fox, or Gracie films (whichever controls the DVD releases) should release this on DVD, release it as a MOD title, or they should license it to a third party; apparently there are companies willing to kill for those numbers.

If someone from the show wants to reach out and correct any of this information, we'd be more than happy to include it here.

 

Dropping it from DVD/BD because of waning sales was always a convenient canard. Fox simply wants hardcore fans forced to view the episodes through the new streaming app/website.

 

Bring back Harry !

 

They did. He's back on the show.

 

On top of it possibly not being an episode you want to see, they syndicated ones have stuff cut out to add more commercial time, *and* they do seem to show a lot of the same episodes over and over...

 

The Simpsons DVD news: Three Years Later - Season 18 is Coming! | TVShowsOnDVD.com

 

Why aren't older seasons available for digital purchase on Amazon Video?

 

Unrelated: I have never viewed an entire episode of The Simpsons!

 

I am hoping it comes out on Blu-ray as well, but I am not holding my breath.

 

Yay!

 

The best seasons were 1 to 11 or so. So I don't mind they stop releasing newer seasons on DVD.

 

Well that's good that Season 18 is getting a long awaited release.

 

Fox already sent me a press release for the set: no mention of Blu-ray!

 

Not really a surprise. Several TV shows I was buying on Blu-ray, stopped coming out on Blu-ray. Modern Family and It's Always Sunny come first to mind.

 

Let's find out!
Episodes | Simpsons World on FXX

 

The Simpsons didn't switch production to HD until season 21 or 22. So no Blu-ray set isn't a huge deal for season 18.

 

I like the improved audio the Blu-ray provides, plus the Blu-ray discs handle the crappy packaging they started using better.

 

Thanks for sharing. Quite an accomplishment.

 

no demand for Uber-simpson's Complete Blu-ray boxset?