The Simpsons are dead! Dead serious about moving from Channel 4 to E4, that is.
The home of the long-running animated series in the UK for 20 years, Channel 4 will no longer be broadcasting The Simpsons in its traditional weeknight slot, starting in January. Instead, broadcast episodes of The Simpsons will appear on Channel 4’s sister channel E4, just a few arduous button presses away.
The change is part of a renewal deal with the unstoppable media monolith Disney, which will cement its own streaming platform Disney+ as the only place to watch the very latest episodes of The Simpsons – now up to season 36 in the US – plus the series’ entire back catalogue and spin-off movies.
Meanwhile, the second-run rights in the UK remain with Channel 4, which owns and operates the E4 channel, so regular weekly broadcasts of season 32 will continue as usual in a slightly different part of your TV guide.
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Many would say The Simpsons should have been canned around season nine, and those people would be correct, but if you’re after the latest episodes from season 36, Disney+ remains the only place to see them. To keep on trucking with season 32, you’ll simply have to switch over to E4 from January for your weekly hit.
How to watch The Simpsons on Disney+
For a limited time, you’ll also be able to watch episodes of season 32 of The Simpsons on catch-up using the Channel 4 app, which includes much of E4’s usual programming. The Channel 4 streaming app will also continue to include select episodes of older series.
But should you want to stream all of them, we’ve got good news. Infamous for buying up half the entertainment industry, Disney’s turgid vault of content now includes everything from Pixar and Marvel to Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox. That means its streaming service is uniquely positioned to offer beloved and exclusive TV shows like The Simpsons on demand.
Disney+ is readily accessible across a wide range of devices, from phones and tablets to smart TVs, games consoles and streaming devices. As well as being the only place to watch new episodes each week, the app is home to every episode of The Simpsons as well as The Simpsons Movie.
Signing up to Disney+ is simple, and subscriptions start at £4.99 per month for the service with advertisements. Pay £8.99 per month (or save by paying £89.90 for a full year) and you can watch without ads, while a £12.99 per month subscription gets you 4K viewing and four concurrent streams.
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