Simpsons World arrives with every 'Simpsons' episode ... if your cable provider supports it

Fox launched the Simpsons World website yesterday, realizing the longtime dream of every fan of The Simpsons. The site offers on-demand streaming access to every episode of the long-running animated sitcom — 556 as of this past Sunday — as long as you have a subscription to a pay-TV provider that supports the FX Network's FXNow app.

In other words, it's not enough for you to pay for a cable TV package that includes FXX, the FX subsidiary that ran a massively successful marathon of every Simpsons episode ever for 12 straight days in August. Your cable provider must also support FXNow, the FX Networks streaming app that's available on computers, iOS, Xbox One and other devices.

A list of participating providers is available on the FXNow website, and it includes services small and large like Astound, Comcast Xfinity and Time Warner Cable. But a number of major national providers are missing, including DirecTV (39 million subscribers as of June 30), Dish Network (14 million as of June 30) and Verizon FiOS (5.5 million as of Sept. 30). We found that out the hard way when we attempted to authenticate with FiOS login information on Simpsons World.

If you subscribe to a cable provider that doesn't support FXNow, perhaps this article will embiggen your desire to glove-slap that company over the phone and demand satisfaction.