Sesame Street’s Netflix logo and Burt and Ernie.
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Sesame Street has a new streaming home.
Netflix Stream a library of the next three seasons of “Sesame Street” and past episodes, ensuring the future of a longtime children’s program known for characters such as Elmo and Cookie Monster.
The Netflix deal was announced on Monday along with another agreement with PBS, the long-standing traditional television home for “Sesame Street.”
According to a Netflix spokesperson, Netflix will exclusively have global premier streaming rights to new episodes from seasons 56 to 58. The new episodes will also be available on PBS Kids’ digital platforms, including a free, publicly funded PBS TV station in the United States, as well as a YouTube channel.
Under the terms of the transaction, Netflix will also acquire rights to the past 90-hour episodes, allowing them to develop video games for both “Sesame Street” and its spin-off series “Sesame Street: MechaBuilder.”
The transaction will come later Warner Bros Discovery I chose not to renew my five-year streaming contract in December. On the platform Max (now called again HBO Max), “Sesame Street” has prompted the search for the next streaming partner for the iconic kids show. Under the previous contract, the episode debuted a few months after PBS was released on WBD’s streaming service.
WBD is cutting back on children’s content as Netflix builds its programming portfolio. Earlier this year, an episode of YouTube Children’s Content Creator Ms. Rachel was added to Netflix.
KID and family programming account for 15% of total Netflix viewing, the company said in its release Monday.
WBD reportedly paid between $30 million and $35 million a year for a new episode of “Sesame Street.” Terms of transaction with Netflix have not been revealed.
Monday’s announcement puts the future of “Sesame Street” on a steady ground after reportedly being in the midst of a financial crisis, facing government pressure. President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month to end public funding for PBS and National Public Radio, claiming the organization is “biased and partisan.”
“Public media is essential,” said Saladowitt, senior vice president and general manager of PBS Kids. “And we know from years of research that providing children across the country with free new, high quality content will help them prepare them for success in school and life.”
“This unique public-private partnership will allow children in communities across the United States to access PBS Kids to their beloved Sesame Street for free,” Shelley Westin, CEO of the Sesame Workshop, said in a press release.
According to the release, the new season will be “rethinking” and will include new segments and format changes. The episode has one 11-minute storyline to “tell a story with more character-driven humor and heart.”
Season 56 will be released in three batches starting later this year.
