Warner Bros. Discovery recently announced that it will not renew its streaming deal with Sesame Street to put out new episodes on its streaming service Max, formerly HBO. This leaves the most popular children's programming searching for a new home. However, Max will continue to license the show through 2027. Its library will continue to be available to stream on the app for the current season, but that will be the last to air on the service.
HBO picked up the show in 2016 (with episodes also airing on PBS) and in 2019, Sesame Workshop and HBO signed a deal to distribute the children's show on the streaming service for five years. However, the media company announced that it will be moving away from kids' shows to focus on adult and family shows.
"It has been a wonderful, creative experience working with everyone at Sesame Street on the iconic children's series, and we are thrilled to be able to keep some of the library series on Max in the U.S.," a representative for Max told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. "As we've launched Max, though, and based on consumer usage and feedback, 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."
With Sesame Street on the market, it's hard to imagine that the show will not be spoken for, with its big name and five decades' worth of episodes. However, reports of its previous financial issues may slow the process of securing a deal. It's not clear what the next move for the show will be, but the team over at Sesame Workshop appears optimistic that an agreement can be struck soon.
In a statement to THR, a spokesperson said that the Sesame Street team is grateful to Warner Bros. Discovery for extending the partnership through 2027 and added that the members of the team "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."
