Microsoft Cancels Sponsorship of Seth MacFarlane Special
Seth McFarlane
Microsoft has canceled its sponsorship of Seth MacFarlane's upcoming variety special, citing content concerns, Variety reports.
The software giant had forged a deal with MacFarlane and his collaborator Alex Borstein for the Nov. 8 special, Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show, to promote its new Windows 7 operating system. It stipulated that the special would air commercial-free but with Windows 7 pitches embedded into the show and MacFarlane and Borstein shilling Windows 7 in their skits.
Family Guy comedy show coming to Fox this November
However, Microsoft honchos changed their minds after attending the taping of the special, which featured jokes about deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest — usual Family Guy humor, according to the trade paper.
"We initially chose to participate in the Seth and Alex variety show based on the audience composition and creative humor of Family Guy, but after reviewing an early version of the variety show, it became clear that the content was not a fit with the Windows brand," said a Microsoft spokeswoman.
Watch clips from Family Guy
Fox still intends to air Almost Live Comedy, with a new, yet-to-be-determined sponsor. It's unclear how the network will edit the special, which features MacFarlane and Borstein pitching Windows 7 in front of a studio audience.
Despite scuttling its arrangement with MacFarlane, Microsoft said its multimillion-dollar deal with Fox remains intact.
