Everyone wins in deal that brings Sesame Street to HBO

“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, according to the statement.

Under a new partnership announced Thursday by Sesame Workshop and HBO, the premium cable channel will carry the next five seasons of “Sesame Street” on HBO and its related platforms.

It will also create Muppets series along with other new educational programs for the children. “We were faced with no ability to make the show going forward”.

As the whole world goes to streaming, Sesame Street began to hurt financially.

Plelper continues to explain that HBO is “delighted to be a home for this extraordinary show, helping “Sesame Street” expand and build its franchise”. About two thirds of Sesame Street’s audience watches the show digitally-on-demand now, something that is much harder to monetize.

The road to “Sesame Street” now runs through HBO.

Industry analysts say this is part of HBO’s effort to boost subscriptions for their new internet streaming service.

HBO swooped in and funded Sesame Workshop (exact financial details haven’t been disclosed at this time) and locked in five more seasons that will air first on HBO.

There won’t be any interruption for “Sesame Street“, on PBS, with the current season airing until new shows become available.

While Netflix and Amazon subscribers have been able to watch old episodes of “Sesame Street“, that content will no longer be available on those services because of the HBO deal, according to Steve Youngwood, chief operating officer at the nonprofit Sesame Workshop.