Sesame Workshop and HBO have announced their new partnership, which will make the next five seasons of the iconic series available on HBO and its multiple channels, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and the new internet only SVOD service HBO NOW.
A significant part of the deal allows Sesame Street to produce double the amount of content than its previous seasons. Sesame Street will produce 35 episodes this season compared to its original 18, plus they will start working on spinoff series like 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.
“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.”
