‘The Simpsons’ heads to cable in lofty syndication deal

In one of the biggest television syndication deals in history, “The Simpsons” will finally be moving to cable television — and, not too surprisingly, the longest-running family show in TV history is staying in the family.

The 21st Century Fox family, that is, which owns the studio that created “The Simpsons” (20th Century Fox Television), the network that broadcasts it (Fox) and now the cable network, FXX, that has acquired both cable and streaming rights to the more than 550 episodes.

Terms were not disclosed, but bidding for the highly coveted “Simpsons” library was reported to be intense, rising toward the $1 billion range. After the television unit announced the sale, analysts estimated a purchase price of between $1 million and $2 million an episode, putting the overall value in the range of $550 million to $1 billion-plus. The shows will begin airing in August.