‘Sesame Street’ moves to Netflix as streamer grows its preschool programming clout
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Elmo, Big Bird and the rest of the Sesame Street gang are moving into the Netflix neighborhood.
The streaming service will premiere the beloved preschool program’s 56th season, along with 90 hours of older episodes, later this year, the Los Gatos, Calif., entertainment company said Monday.
The move comes months after HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, said it would no longer finance production of new episodes in a cost-cutting move. The decision, after a decade-long partnership, left the nonprofit Sesame Workshop searching for a lifeline.
As part of the Netflix deal, “Sesame Street” will continue to air on PBS stations in the U.S. and will be available across the public broadcaster’s digital platforms. PBS has been the broadcast partner since the puppets were pups back in 1969.
Through its deal with Sesame Workshop, Netflix will have exclusive worldwide premiere rights. Episodes will be available same-day on the PBS stations, providing a boost for the embattled broadcaster, which is trying to stave off a funding cut by Congress. President Trump has taken aim at the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, which steers grants to PBS and NPR, demanding the government cut the purse strings.
PBS has a public service mandate. Providing commercial-free and educational children’s programming has long supported that goal.
“This unique public-private partnership will enable Sesame Workshop to bring our research-based curriculum to young children around the world with Netflix’s global reach, while ensuring children in communities across the U.S. continue to have free access on public television to the Sesame Street they love,” Sherrie Rollins Westin, chief executive of the nonprofit, said in a statement.
Licensing terms were not disclosed.
HBO threw ‘Sesame Street’ a lifeline a decade ago, enabling the production of new episodes. Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to stop financing first-run episodes after this season.
Netflix said the new season, which will be released in three batches, will include some format changes and the return of popular segments such as “Elmo’s World” and “Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck.”
Episodes will now be built around one 11-minute story, tailored to the shorter attention spans of younger viewers.
The partnership includes creating a new animated segment, “Tales from 123,” in a nod to the famous 123 Sesame Street address. Fans will get to see inside the brick building that is home to Bert, Ernie and Cookie Monster. (It’s not clear whether trash-can dwelling Oscar the Grouch has a bunk inside.)
The deal was a natural for Netflix, which has become a go-to streaming service with programming to serve nearly every audience.
Shows for preschoolers have become a particular sweet spot. Those titles include the popular “Peppa Pig,” “CoComelon Lane,” and “Masha and the Bear.”
It also has enjoyed success with “Mighty Little Bheem,” an animated series from India, as well as its top preschool show, “Ms. Rachel,” who first took off on YouTube teaching such skills as counting, nursery rhymes and phonics.
The streamer has expanded its repertoire at a time when legacy media companies have ceded a once lucrative space.
Netflix on Wednesday said it is changing the look of its TV homepage and is experimenting with an artificial intelligence-powered search function.
Netflix, in a statement, said kids and family programming now represents 15% of its total viewing.
Such programming has become a key part of the company’s customer retention strategy, keeping parents with young children in the fold. Last week, Netflix told advertising buyers the streamer’s ad-supported plan boasts more than 94 million global monthly active users.
The company plans to spend $18 billion on content this year.
The venerable children’s TV series enters its 55th season Thursday during a time of change, but its mission to educate young viewers remains the same.
As part of the arrangement with Sesame Workshop, Netflix will be able to develop video games for both “Sesame Street” and “Sesame Street Mecha Builders.”
Netflix previously announced a “Peppa Pig” video game. During last month’s earnings call, Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters said the company wanted to offer kids-centric games — which is viewed as another potent vein.
Staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.
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