Woohoo! Homer’s Coming Home

TV3 has confirmed that The Simpsons again will screen in HD when the long-running ‘toon resumes Sunday night screenings on the network (thanks to thx1138 for the heads-up).

When MediaWorks relaunched Four as a fledgling youth entertainment channel, it used The Simpsons as a signature attraction to build viewership and took it off TV3 to give Four a point of difference.

The downside for Simpsons fans is Four’s an SD channel, which meant Springfield had only one glorious season in HD on TV3 before batting for the other team.

But now that Four’s turned into a star performer, improving its ratings more than any other channel last year, MediaWorks bosses clearly feel it’s strong enough to continue without The Simpsons as an anchor.

Four also abounds with new animated fare, and the aging nature of The Simpsons and its broader, mainstream appeal, coupled with TV3’s need for one or two comedy anchors of its own, makes the show’s return to TV3 as sensible as it is welcomed — even if it means episodes will no longer screen “same week as the States” (TV3 will resume it from season 24).

Watch for another of Four’s top ‘toons, Family Guy, to return to TV3, with new episodes also airing in HD.

As for when Four will switch to HD, ScreenScribe.tv readers like Leo Styles hear it may be this year but so far I’ve been unable to confirm this.

Veteran ad media buyer John Dee, of JDee Media, reckons it should be sooner rather than later.

“Four is appealing to a broader audience than the [ad] industry expected,” he says. “They should respect their viewers and reward them with HD.”

He also agrees Prime’s switch to HD is long overdue but still a long shot.

“Prime being owned by Sky will hold off from doing it as Sky is loathe to make investments that don’t generate more revenue.”