Is the End Approaching for the Simpsons?

It might just be a marketing or salary negotiation ploy but rumours are surfacing that Simpsons may finally be coming to a close. The hugely successful show holds the record for the longest running television series and is a core stable of many television networks who use reruns as valuable fillers. Fox is considering cancelling the show unless the voice talents behind the loveable characters, including Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardly Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer, each agree to take a 45% pay cut with their current salaries totalling roughly 8 million dollars each a year. If the show were to end, Fox would still retain massive profits and income from selling old episodes and from merchandising and syndication, suggesting that the show has run its course and its value now lies in back-end profits.