Sesame Street Moves To HBO

[Samurai8472]

Public channels will get the new episodes on a nine-month delay

http://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/528904/sesame-street-moving-hbo

The letters of the day on “Sesame Street” are H, B and O.

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit group behind the children’s television program, has struck a deal with HBO, the premium cable network, that will bring the next five seasons of “Sesame Street” to HBO and its streaming outlets starting this fall.

The partnership will allow Sesame Workshop to significantly increase its production of “Sesame Street” episodes and other new programming. The group will produce 35 new “Sesame Street” episodes a year, up from the 18 it produces now. Sesame Workshop also will create a spinoff series based on the “Sesame Street” Muppets and another new educational series for children.

After nine months of programming exclusively on HBO, the shows also will be available free on PBS, its home for the last 45 years. “Sesame Street” will also continue its run on PBS this fall, with the season featuring a selection of episodes from the last several seasons edited in new ways.

-Big bird gets involved in a bad Heroin deal in "True Detective season 3"

-Elmo becomes a White Walker


This is what happens when Maria leaves LOL

 

[Robert D. Robot]

Before I heard the complete details, I was pretty annoyed and scratching my head about the move to HBO, but it sounds like the deal guarantees a new flow of financial support into Sesame Street to not only sustain, but grow, Sesame Street. And PBS won't be losing anything, but gaining more content, just with a time lag. Sounds like a good deal!

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Looking forward to the Ernie/Bert love scenes.

 

[Random_Spock]

Before I heard the complete details, I was pretty annoyed and scratching my head about the move to HBO, but it sounds like the deal guarantees a new flow of financial support into Sesame Street to not only sustain, but grow, Sesame Street. And PBS won't be losing anything, but gaining more content, just with a time lag. Sounds like a good deal!

Not really imo. Not a fan of the deal tbh. It makes me wonder if maybe Maria might have left because of it.

 

[Timby]

Oscar comin', yo.

 

[bryce]

Ugh, a BIG PART of me DOESN'T LIKE THIS, because for 40+ years, Sesame Street has been synonymous with *free educational TV*, and PBS and Sesame Street have kinda gone hand-in-hand (hell, Sesame Street helped *make* PBS!) - but on the up side, this will mean that, after 9 months or their original air-date on HBO, PBS will get the same HBO episodes for *free* (currently they are paying for it) - and it means that the Children's Television Workshop can produce *twice* the number of episodes per yer - plus produce more Electric Company, AND a Sesame Street spin-off staring the Muppets.

Oh...huh...listening to a story about this now on NPR's Marketplace, and they are saying that a huge hunk of money to make Sesame Street comes not from what local PBS affiliates pay them, but from DVD sales...and with DVDs going away, these sales are decreasing rapidly, and it might be HBO Sesame Street, on *no* Sesame Street..

 

[Gaith]

I was never allowed to watch Sesame Street; the parents thought it promoted short attention spans, what with its entirely new subjects and presentation mediums every 2-3 minutes (if that). The much more gently-paced (IIRC) Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was the preferred alternative.

Ergo, I can't say I have any particular feelings about any of this.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Ergo, I can't say I have any particular feelings about any of this.

That's because Fred Rogers only ever showed milquetoast kindness. Now had you watched the Electric Company instead....

 

[SPCTRE]

 

[Mr. Adventure]

HBO had Fraggle Rock for years and did well with it. Hopefully, for young kids without HBO they won't even know they aren't seeing the delayed episodes. Of course, little Sally at the monkeybars always blurts the spoilers...

 

[Corran Horn]

Time is a flat Square. A Square has one-two-three-four sides! ah ah ah! (thunderclap)

 

[ManOnTheWave]

Well, apparently the budget for SS is $25 million a year, and someone has to pay for it. This means continued educational TV instead of cancellation.

 

[the G-man]

Oh...huh...listening to a story about this now on NPR's Marketplace, and they are saying that a huge hunk of money to make Sesame Street comes not from what local PBS affiliates pay them, but from DVD sales...and with DVDs going away, these sales are decreasing rapidly, and it might be HBO Sesame Street, on *no* Sesame Street..

Based on wikipedia it sounds like most of their income has almost always come from toys, DVDs, etc., and not from what they're paid to produce the show.

Another interesting article about Sesame Street's history, and the economic realities of producing even a "non profit" show here.

 

[J.T.B.]

The group will produce 35 new “Sesame Street” episodes a year, up from the 18 it produces now.

Wow, I had no idea it had been scaled back like that. When I was a kid they had new episodes five days a week. IIRC the episode numbers were over a thousand in the late '70s. Of course much of each episode was re-used films, but still.

 

[Jedi_Master]

When was the last time you actually saw a brand new Sesame Street episode? I think even the first season was reruns...

 

[J.T.B.]

When was the last time you actually saw a brand new Sesame Street episode? I think even the first season was reruns...

In the '70s the live-action stuff was always new. Well, not really, I'm sure they had weeks off, but they had multi-episode plotlines and all that.

The Sesame Street of the '70s was a far cry from what it became in the Elmo era. There was plenty of humor thrown in for grown ups, a lot of stuff had a proto-Muppet Show feel.

 

[Jedi_Master]

I don't knock the new format - and Murray really seems to be able to engage with the children on the show in a way that hasn't been seen since the heydey of Grover, Oscar, and Ernie - but episode segments are chopped up and reworked so often its hard to tell what is new or old.

 

[Karzak]

I was never allowed to watch Sesame Street; the parents thought it promoted short attention spans, what with its entirely new subjects and presentation mediums every 2-3 minutes (if that).

 

[Taylirious]

As long as the muppets don't start humping or ripping the stuffing out of one another! I'm cool.

ETA: Oh...

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHROHJlU_Ng[/yt]

.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Just don't let Al Swearengen host an episode.