Friday the 13th is known for bad luck, and in this case, it’s struck a beloved children’s TV icon. On Friday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced it’s not renewing its deal to carry first-run episodes of “Sesame Street,” basically canceling the series unless it finds a new home. The current season (season 55) will apparently be its last on Max, though back catalog episodes will remain available.
History of Sesame Street on HBO and Max
In 2015, first run episodes of “Sesame Street” moved to HBO (and its streaming apps at the time, HBO Go/HBO Now) as part of a deal by the show to secure better funding. DVD sales were declining (per the shift to streaming over the 2010s), as was merchandise revenue. The deal allowed first-run episodes to air on HBO and its streaming apps, as well as reruns to air on PBS months later.
Back then, I wrote a post about the deal, where I hoped for the best for “Sesame Street.” That said, while I can see why the show’s producers (Sesame Workshop) did this, the move from PBS (a public noncommercial broadcaster) to HBO (a commercial pay TV service/streaming service) still feels philosophically “off” or “wrong.” In 2015, I was mainly worried how this would affect future funding for PBS, but as it turns out, I also should’ve worried more about the future of the show itself. I think I was too optimistic (or trying too much to minimize panic at the time) about “Sesame Street”’s future under a for-profit media company. Commercial broadcasting doesn’t have the same values or concerns as a noncommercial broadcaster like PBS. As such, “Sesame Street” became just another show in Warner Bros.’s roster, with the same vulnerabilities to being canceled, mistreated, etc. as any other show.
Since 2015, Warner Bros has been sold twice. The current owners, Warner Bros. Discovery, and its CEO David Zaslav, have made crystal clear they have little regard for animation or children’s programming beyond the bare minimum necessary. Cartoon Network is a hollowed-out shell of its former self, even accounting for the current decline in cable TV viewership. Much of Warner’s animation library has been offloaded to other services, such as Hulu (the 2010s Cartoon Network shows) or Tubi (the major Hanna-Barbera shows). And of course there are the infamous content purges and shelving of finished films as tax write-offs/residual dodges. As far as animation is concerned, if it’s not a DC Comics/Batman-related property, or a cartoon aimed at adults (Adult Swim, “Harley Quinn,” “Velma,” etc.), Warner clearly isn’t interested and doesn’t care. Max’s only selling points left as a streaming service are for fans of DC Comics, Adult Swim, and/or HBO. (Reality show fans are better off with Discovery+, so Max’s reality show focus doesn’t even make sense.)
Viewers who want children’s programming should skip Max and look elsewhere, such as Netflix, Disney+, or the free PBS Kids app. Warner notes they plan to make “Harry Potter” a major focus of their family fare programming, which says a lot—a franchise they don’t fully own, whose popularity peaked in the aughts, and whose creator is the transphobic JK Rowling. (Even if the movies’ revenue made it one of Warner Bros.’s top grossing franchises.)
In my case, I’ve replaced Max with a mix of other streaming services, buying my favorite Warner cartoons (like “Scooby-Doo” and “Looney Tunes”) on DVD/Blu-ray, and setting up a media server.
The future of “Sesame Street”
As for “Sesame Street,” its future as of this writing is up in the air. While I can see it land on another streaming service, that still puts it in the same position as before, being subject to the whims of a for-profit media outlet.
That said, if simply going back to PBS Kids for first-run episodes isn’t an option (and the series simply doesn’t end its run), a few options come to mind:
- Apple TV+: The service already carries another famous Jim Henson creation, “Fraggle Rock.” However, Apple TV+ isn’t the most popular streaming service.
- Prime Video: Amazon already carries a number of other PBS Kids shows on its streaming service, so getting the most famous one of all might be desirable. Prime Video’s also one of the world’s most popular streaming services.
- Disney+: Disney owns the Muppets, and has its popular Disney Jr. preschool brand/cable channel. “Sesame Street” could fit well under Disney Jr., though there’s been complaints about how well Disney’s handled the Muppets as a property.
Image: Part of the cast of “Sesame Street.” (Sesame Workshop)
