![]() “They need to fight for their share of audience from a group of people who can’t even spell audience. “I don’t envy PBS being in that marketplace,” says Davis. The kids programming world is every bit as competitive as the grown up one, he adds. I started singing the theme song, and fortunately was able to stop halfway through, when a smile of recognition came across my daughter’s face.ĭavis notes that the prime age of Sesame, around 2 or 3, may be too young to fully remember the show. “I remember Oscar the Grouch,” my son said. My son, meanwhile, loved PBS Kids’ Dinosaur Train and a Brit import called Roary the Racing Car that he watched on demand on his grandparents’ Comcast system. My wife reminded me that our 7-year old daughter loved the “Elmo’s World” segments in Sesame, but preferred Dora the Explorer on Nick Jr. I asked my own offspring, ages 10 and 7, this morning, if they remembered Sesame Street, and got a couple shrugs. I don’t know that kids today feel the same way. Gen X’ers, and others, can still call up Sesame bits and songs from our childhood, whether it’s the exasperating elusiveness of Snuffleupagus, the animated diva singing the virtues of “11” from atop a pigsty fence, or the “Beetles” singing “Letter B”. “It’s hard for me to make the argument that anybody is really being denied anything.” “I don’t believe this takes anything away from PBS,” says Davis. Plenty of Sesame content is available at the local library and on demand, and viewers in Sesame’s target demo find comfort in repeats. Kids who don’t have HBO won’t notice that they’re getting their Sesame episodes nine months late, believes Davis. “It takes a pile of cash to do that kind of work.” ![]() “It’s so important for the success of the show, the continuity of the show,” says Davis. “It’s a new and needed revenue source,” he says, for a show that relies heavily on expensive research. ![]() The promotional heft of the premium cable giant, she says, is something PBS could not match.ĭavis sees the HBO shift as a smart one for Sesame Workshop that ultimately benefits viewers. Parente says the HBO partnership was essential for a “small, not for profit” outfit, Sesame Workshop, which had been losing a lot of money. New episodes migrate to PBS nine months after they debut on HBO. “It’s a nice vote of confidence in what we’re doing.” “They really have left the creative total to us,” she says. ![]() HBO hasn’t given many notes, says Parente. And the shorter episode length reflects a decreased reliance on the stock content that used to round out the hour. That’s in addition to the previously announced titles exiting HBO Max this month, including all eight of the original “Harry Potter” films.Every episode will be centered around a lone topic relevant to kids. That includes 20 original HBO Max shows, including teen drama “Generation,” animated anthology series “Infinity Train” and kids’ show “Summer Camp Island,” as well as several “Sesame Street” specials. The removal of the “Sesame Street” episodes comes after HBO Max on Wednesday said at least 36 more titles will be leaving the service this week. The streamer also will be premiering additional episodes of “Sesame Street Mecha Builders” later in 2022. Still available for now on HBO Max, in addition to remaining episodes of the “Sesame Street” series, are the 10-episode “Sesame Street Mecha Builders,” seven seasons of “My Sesame Street Friends” and “The Magical Wand Chase” special featuring Elmo and Abby. Their current agreement keeps new “Sesame Street” seasons first-run on HBO Max through 2025. HBO and Sesame Workshop first struck an agreement in 2015, providing a new revenue stream for “Sesame Street,” while granting HBO rights to run new episodes of the landmark series first before they appeared on its longtime home, PBS. Select “Sesame Street” episodes continue to be available on PBS Kids and the Sesame Street channel on YouTube. Sesame Workshop reps did not respond to requests for comment. “We are committed to continuing to bring ‘Sesame Street’ into families’ homes,” including with Season 53 premiering this fall and the 400-plus episodes of the most recent and past seasons that remain on Cartoonito on HBO Max. “‘Sesame Street’ is and has always been an important part of television culture and a crown jewel of our preschool offering,” an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement to Variety.
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