The newest adventures of the famous Sesame Street friends are in need of a new home, as Warner Brothers Discovery opted out of renewing its deal to premiere new episodes of the long-running TV show’s on HBO or Max.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the license deal for previously aired episodes from the show’s library remains intact until 2027, so that content will remain available on the platforms despite the change.
A Max spokesperson told THR, that though it’s been “a wonderful, creative experience working with everyone at Sesame Street,” the launch of Max showed the company needed to change strategy: “We’ve had to prioritize our focus on stories for adults and families, and so new episodes from Sesame Street, at this time, are not as core to our strategy.”
Putting a positive spin on this, a Sesame Workshop spokesperson told the Daily Beast, “We are excited to extend our 10-year partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, keeping Sesame Street’s iconic library available on Max through 2027. We will continue to invest in our best-in-class programming and look forward to announcing our new distribution plans in the coming months, ensuring that Sesame Street reaches as many children as possible for generations to come.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that new episodes of Sesame Street, Season 55, are still scheduled to debut on Max in January.
HBO raised eyebrows when it took over new episodes of Sesame Street from PBS in 2015, in a deal in which new episodes would premiere on HBO before they hit PBS. The deal also included terms that required the series to nix content from Amazon and Netflix. At the time, the company was on a mission to become a top destination for children’s content—a strange move considering HBO’s historically more adult-centric brand.
Even dropping the “HBO” from its streamer name “HBO Max” was an effort for the company to distance itself from its reputation for racy content so it could win over families to its streaming library. The tide has changed, however, as ending the Sesame Street deal is part of HBO’s new focus on adult content and “family” programming (i.e., content everyone in the family would watch together—think Harry Potter rather than Sesame Street).
The news comes in the wake of reported money troubles on Sesame Street. As a non-profit, the organization behind the series, Sesame Workshop, pays no taxes, receives grants, and also makes millions in merchandising. However, THR reported that the organization had made a surplus of just $1.6 million, against an estimated $100 million in operating costs since 2015’s HBO deal.
The series is still going full speed ahead, however, even though where premiere episodes will land is uncertain for now. An executive told the outlet in 2023 that Sesame Street’s next season will feature longer segments to allow for more “dynamic” and “sophisticated” stories.
