After 45 years on PBS, Grover is headed to HBO.
Kids whose parents can afford the pay-cable channel will now get the adventures of Big Bird, The Cookie Monster and Elmo nine months before less privileged kids can watch the same episodes for free on PBS.
The deal with HBO covers the next five seasons of new "Sesame Street" episodes, 150 library episodes, plus a spin-off series starring the show’s Muppets.
Between 1969 and 1977, “Sesame Street” cranked out 130 or more new episodes per season. 26 episodes were produced for the 2014-2015 season.
The HBO Muppet spin-off is not to be confused with “The Muppets,” which premieres on ABC Sept. 22.
HBO’s press release:
SESAME WORKSHOP AND HBO ANNOUNCE FIVE-YEAR PARTNERSHIPNew Seasons of Sesame Street will Premiere on HBO and Continue to be Available to PBS
(New York, August 13, 2015) - Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind the Emmy Award-winning program Sesame Street, and HBO, the nation's leading premium cable network, today announced a new partnership that will make the next five seasons of the iconic series available on HBO and its multiplex channels, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and the new internet-only SVOD service HBO NOW. As a key part of the deal, Sesame will be able to produce almost twice as much new content as previous seasons, and for the first time ever, make the show available free of charge to PBS and its member stations after a nine-month window.
"Our new partnership with HBO represents a true winning public-private partnership model," said Jeffrey D. Dunn, Sesame Workshop's CEO. "It provides Sesame Workshop with the critical funding it needs to be able to continue production of Sesame Street and secure its nonprofit mission of helping kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder; it gives HBO exclusive pay cable and SVOD access to the nation's most important and historic educational programming; and it allows Sesame Street to continue to air on PBS and reach all children, as it has for the past 45 years."
In addition to the next five seasons of Sesame Street, Sesame Workshop will produce a Sesame Street Muppet(TM) spinoff series, as well as develop a new original educational series for children. HBO has also licensed over 150 library episodes of Sesame Street. The new episodes will begin airing as early as late fall 2015, and HBO will be the exclusive, first-run subscription television distribution partner for Sesame Street and the new series. HBO will have the right to air all series in both English and Spanish. All new series will also be made available to PBS and its member stations after the first window. Episodes of Sesame Street will continue to be made available, uninterrupted, as part of the PBS KIDS service on PBS member stations.
"We are absolutely thrilled to help secure the future of Sesame Street and Sesame Workshop's mission for the nation's kids and families," said Richard Plepler, Chairman and CEO of HBO, and Michael Lombardo, President, HBO Programming. "Home Box Office is committed to bringing the most groundbreaking and creative shows to its audience. Sesame Street is the most important preschool education program in the history of television. We are delighted to be a home for this extraordinary show, helping Sesame Street expand and build its franchise."
"I've long admired the creative work of HBO and can't think of a better partner to continue the quality of Sesame Street's programming," commented Joan Ganz Cooney, co-founder of Sesame Street. "Over the past decade, both the way in which children are consuming video and the economics of the children's television production business have changed dramatically. In order to fund our nonprofit mission with a sustainable business model, Sesame Workshop must recognize these changes and adapt to the times."
In addition to Sesame Street, HBO will also license approximately 50 past episodes of the two acclaimed children's series Pinky Dinky Doo, an animated series for preschoolers that focuses on early literacy, and The Electric Company, which was rebooted in 2009, from Sesame Workshop.
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About Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street which reaches 156 million children across more than 150 countries. The Workshop's mission is to help kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder. Delivered through a variety of platforms, including television programs, digital experiences, books and community engagement, its research-based programs are tailored to the needs of the communities and countries they serve. For more information, visit us at www.sesameworkshop.org.
About Home Box Office
Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and the world's most successful pay TV service, providing the two television services - HBO(R) and Cinemax(R) - to approximately 122 million subscribers worldwide. The services offer the popular subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand(R) and Cinemax On Demand(R), as well as HBO GO(R) and MAX GO(R), HD feeds and multiplex channels. HBO NOWSM, the network's internet only premium streaming service, provides audiences with instant access to HBO's acclaimed programming in the U.S. Internationally, HBO branded television networks, along with the subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand and HBO GO, bring HBO services to over 60 countries. HBO and Cinemax programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide.
