‘Sesame Street’ finds a new home as Netflix signs streaming deal to save the iconic show

Sesame Workshop and Netflix have signed a multi-year contract for the worldwide streaming of Sesame Street, beginning with Season 56. The deal ensures free access to educational programs and works with PBS stations and the PBS Kids app in the US to show the same material on the same day.

This decision came after Warner Bros. Discovery's Public Broadcasting was having trouble with money because of budget cuts by the government. The "reimagined" concept for Season 56 will contain an 11-minute story in each episode. It will bring back classic shows like "Elmo's World" and add a new animated feature called Tales from 123.

Sesame Street finds a new home as Netflix signs streaming deal to save the iconic show

Warner Bros. Discovery ended Sesame Street's streaming deal with HBO Max in 2024. The deal had begun in 2016. Sesame Workshop started talking to a lot of different platforms when they were told that a major distribution partner was about to leave. This was to make sure that the program would continue. Netflix won the long-running kids' show and agreed to air both new and old episodes.

Sesame Street, which first aired around 1969, is well-known for its research-based lessons and stories that include everyone. PBS has been showing free shows without commercials for more than 50 years. The network received money from both businesses and the government.

But the government's budget cutbacks and the changes to public broadcasting financing make it harder for PBS to provide expensive instructional programs. Having to speak to streaming providers right away was crucial since losing the HBO Max arrangement placed a lot of stress on Sesame Workshop's finances.

Starting in late 2025, Netflix will exclusively offer new Season 56 episodes on its foreign service, along with 90 hours of chosen older series. There won't be any further delays longer than a few months, as there were with the HBO Max deal. Netflix may help the show get more fans throughout the globe. On Netflix, customers may watch both old and new episodes, as well as whole seasons.

The plot of each episode revolves around one or two people who are intimately connected to the other characters. Elmo's World and Cookie Monster's Foodie Truck, two of the best segments of the year, will be returning for another round. The program will have greater creative flexibility since it will include an original animated short called Tales from 123 that will be shown in three sections.

Media experts think that this relationship between the public and private sectors might be a means to keep high-quality educational broadcasts running even when public money is going down. Keeping free broadcast times and using Netflix's worldwide platform helps keep the main ideals of Sesame Street alive.

This means that Sesame Street will continue to be fun and educational for people of all ages, no matter where they live or how much money they have. By combining Netflix's worldwide audience with PBS's aim of public broadcasting, this partnership will help the show continue longer.

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