FX made some jaw-dropping additions to an already sensational original programming lineup last week, announcing upcoming pilots from both surrealist-comedy mastermind Charlie Kaufman, and a what-seems-unstoppable pairing of Zach Galifianakis (starring) and Louis CK (producing).

Those moves, combined with plenty of other already existing hit shows, would have kept FX in a comfortable place for years to come even without last week’s roll-out of its new streaming service, FXNow. With that app in place, strategically unveiled to leverage both new and old content to the maximum degree, the network could be looking at a new level of dominance.

Currently available for iOS, Xbox One, Windows 8 and on the web, the FXNow app will by spring appear on Android, Xbox 360, Roku and Samsung platforms as well. Like any cable network app aiming to be, oh, profitable, FXNow’s on-demand streaming content is only available to cable subscribers. Unlike most other cable networks apps, however, FXNow is uniquely primed to not only please/retain current subscribers, but bring in new subscribers en masse. It will even, most likely, bring back many subscribers who abandoned their cable packages for [insert your cord-cut media behemoth of choice here].

And all of this will start happening, or at least kick into high gear, come August, when the “Simpsons” streaming deal FX cut at the end of 2013 finally goes into effect, and the entire back catalog of the show-that-keeps-on-giving becomes available for the first time online.

Many fans of the longest-running TV show in history would pay monthly simply to have on-demand access to every episode of “The Simpsons” ever. With close to 550 already available, and more on the way, the show is a veritable network in itself. Still more viewers would pay simply to have access to FXNow, with its unbeatable combination of original programming and modern-day classic series, not to mention blockbuster films like “Moneyball,” “Avatar” and “The Other Guys.” The fact that a cable subscription gets you all this plus a bunch of other channels as well bodes very well for FX, and the cable landscape in general, and not so well for Netflix. Sure, Netflix has some great original programming, but its film library is abysmal, and its non-original TV lineup spotty. The streaming company is undoubtedly doing everything in its power to change these matters, but will it be enough to compete with unlimited access to “The Simpsons”? Time will tell.

In November, FX paid $750 million for off-network and VOD syndication rights to “The Simpsons,” one of the biggest deals of its kind in history. Come this summer, FXNow is going to make that price look like a bargain.

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