Following shifts in federal funding for public television, “Sesame Street” has entered into an agreement with Netflix, expanding the show’s availability through the streaming services. This partnership will bring new and existing episodes of the iconic children’s program to a broader global audience, while the show also remains available on PBS.
Highlighting its significance, Netflix stated that the renowned series is ‘treasured and essential element of kid’s content, engaging young audiences and inspiring a lifelong interest in learning.
The streaming giant, with its 300 million subscribers, will provide a new season and 90 hours of archived episodes of the show, which will also remain accessible through PBS.
In addition the funding changes, “Sesame Street” also faced potential instability when Warner Bros. Discovery behind HBO, choose not to continue their agreement with five-decade-old series.
The Trump administration recently released an executive order intended to remove federal funding from PBS and NPR, based on claims that those networks engage in “biased and partisan journalism”.
As the government body that financially supported the two broadcasters, the Corporate for Public Broadcasting has since announced the end of a federal initiative that provided money for children’s television shows, among them being “Sesame Street”.
As part of the arrangement, PBS will receive new “Sesame Street” episodes on the same day they became available on Netflix.
In the latter part of the 1960s, the individuals who jointly established “Sesame Street”, Lloyd Morrisett and Joan Ganz Cooney, contacted Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education with an innovation method for educating young Americans.
To create the show, the “Sesame Street” founders collaborated with a development psychologist-led team to understand childhood psychology and develop entertaining lessons.
While also working with Muppts creator Jim Henson to bring characters like Big Bird to life on a set designed to look like an urban street.
Millions of children have been familiar with the show’s memorable theme song, “Can you tell me how to get, how to get Sesame Street?” Since its debut on November 10, 1969.
The influence of “Sesame Street” and its characters has extended far beyond television screens over the years; a prominent instance of this occurred in 2002 when the popular character Elmo was invited to address congress on the topic of music education.
In response to a child obesity crisis in the United States in 2006, “Sesame Street” broadcasted “Health Habits” segments aimed at educating children about nutrition and physical activity.
The character Cookie Monster famously reclassified cookies as an “occasional food” and instructed young viewers on the principles of a balanced diet.
To create a segment about healthy eating, former First Lady Michelle Obama went to the studios where “Sesame Street” is filmed.
Netflix has been increasingly prioritizing content for children, which currently makes up 15% of the viewing activity on its platform.
The streaming service also announced on Tuesday that new episodes of “Peppa Pig” and a mobile game featuring puzzles and coloring activities would soon be available on its platform.
The animated show tells the stories of Peppa, a four-year-old pig, and her family in a fictional British town.
