‘The Simpsons’ Poke Fun at Disney’s Latest Back-Patting ‘Corporate Twitter Stunt’

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As if we needed one more reminder that Disney now owns nearly all of the entertainment industry, the company flexed on Twitter in a massive crossover thread that rubbed some the wrong way — including, jokingly at least, one of its own new properties. Celebrating Monday’s announcement about the international rollout plans for Disney+, the company’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service, Disney engaged in a winking conversation with itself across multiple Twitter accounts. The thread involved accounts for Disney, Pixar, National Geographic, “Star Wars,” Marvel, “The Avengers,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “The Simpsons.”

After replying to itself from its various properties, Disney patted itself on the back, tweeting: “It’s barely 9:00 am and we already found Dory, assembled the @Avengers, and got @StarWars and @Marvel to tweet at each other. NBD just the most ambitious crossover event in history.”

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To which “The Simpsons” account replied, in its most Comic Book Guy voice: “Worst. Corporate Twitter stunt. Ever.”

Of course, since the Disney/Fox merger, “The Simpsons” is now a Disney property as well, calling into question the authenticity of the dig. Either one social media manager went rogue, or there were lots of meetings in which this entire conversation was meticulously planned. Knowing Disney, it’s safe to assume the latter is more likely.

The company announced yesterday that international plans for the new streaming service would be available on November 12, the same day Disney Plus will launch in the US. The international rollout will begin with Canada and the Netherlands, followed a week later by Australia and New Zealand. Disney Plus will be the dedicated streaming home for movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, “Star Wars,” National Geographic and other Mouse House brands.

Reports surfaced yesterday that Disney was teaming up with Charter Communications to prevent multiple people from sharing the same streaming account as part of a crackdown against piracy. The effort is part of a new distribution agreement between Disney and Charter, which is the nation’s second-biggest cable company.

“There’s lots of extra streams, there’s lots of extra passwords, there’s lots of people who could get free service,” said Charter CEO Tom Rutledge.

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