The Simpsons (franchise) In 2008, $750 million worth of "The Simpsons" merchandise was purchased worldwide. Peter Byrne, Fox executive vice-president of licensing and merchandising, called "The Simpsons" "without doubt the biggest licensing entity that Fox has had, full stop, I would say from either TV or film." Matt Groening conceived of the idea for the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office. Brooks, the producer of the sketch comedy program "The Tracey Ullman Show", wanted to use a series of animated cartoons as bumpers between sketches. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended
The Way It Was (TV series) The Way It Was (TV series) The Way It Was was a 1974 to 1978 PBS television series featuring athletes reminiscing about a particular sporting event from the past. Hosted by Curt Gowdy, the bulk of the 30-minute broadcast was dedicated to rebroadcasting the game, uninterrupted but in edited form, with a short 5-minute discussion segment at the end of the show. The show is also notable for its computer animated intro with the song "Happy Days Are Here Again". Gerry Gross, who created "Sports Challenge", produced the show in association with KCET in Los Angeles. PBS aired the show