Adapted by:
John Tones
WriterI've been writing about culture for twenty-something years and, at Xataka, I cover everything related to movies, video games, TV shows, comics, and pop culture.
Alba Mora
WriterAn established tech journalist, I entered the world of consumer tech by chance in 2018. In my writing and translating career, I've also covered a diverse range of topics, including entertainment, travel, science, and the economy.
Disney+ announced on Tuesday the launch of a continuous stream of The Simpsons, featuring 24/7 broadcasting of all 35 seasons of the series. This amounts to nearly 300 hours and 767 episodes of one of the most popular shows in television history. Beyond celebrating the immense legacy of the Fox series, this move highlights the outdated model the streaming industry seems to be emulating.
Simple and symbolic. Who would actually want to watch The Simpsons episodes in chronological order? In the end, Disney+ has released new episodes just hours after they air on Fox since 2020, and the series’ 36 seasons are already available on the platform. Yet, when it comes to The Simpsons, the nostalgia factor remains extraordinarily powerful.
Not Disney+’s first stream. Since September 2024, Disney+ has been experimenting with continuous playlists of several types of content, including offerings from the platform’s library as well as some live programming. Disney kicked off the experiment with ABC News Live, followed by playlists of preschool content. The platform then launched streams for seasonal selections such Christmas and Halloween themes and compilations from successful franchises (such as Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney). Another curated playlist includes classic and nostalgic content, while another focuses on documentaries, biopics, and true stories.
Streamlining the content. Disney+’s experiment isn’t entirely new. Netflix attempted something similar with Netflix Direct, a single channel broadcasting its content non-stop. It was only launched in France in 2020 and ultimately didn’t succeed. Behind Disney+’s new proposal lies a clear goal: escaping the feeling of saturation that comes with having a vast catalog of content. Faced with the “infinite choice” syndrome, users often don’t choose at all.
Nostalgia. Additionally, Disney+’s The Simpsons stream responds to a sense of nostalgia for the times when watching your favorite show felt like the biggest event of the week. Millennials have fond memories of sitting in front of the TV to watch shows such as The Simpsons and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. We used to watch what was available.
The resilience of traditional TV. A recent study found that more than half of Europeans still consider traditional TV their primary source for viewing, and the same is probably true for Americans. This is partly due to habits formed over years of watching linear TV. It’s also just another example of how old patterns persist or evolve.
The rapid growth of FAST channels supports this, with the number of linear channels in the U.S. projected to increase from 1,000 in 2023 to 1,900 in 2024. People are clearly not ready yet to abandon old habits, and The Simpsons is poised to capitalize on this trend.
Image | Disney+
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