(KTLA) – Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and the rest of the “Sesame Street” crew are headed to Netflix.
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind “Sesame Street,” made two announcements on Monday morning concerning the future of the show.
“‘Sesame Street’ will soon reach more children in more places than ever before,” the nonprofit explained. “New seasons of ‘Sesame Street’ — and library episodes — are coming to Netflix worldwide, AND those same new episodes will release on the same day on PBS stations and PBS KIDS digital platforms in the U.S., keeping our 50+ year relationship going strong.”
The organization touted the “unique public-private partnership,” saying it will allow their research-based curriculum to be provided to young children around the world with Netflix’s global reach while “ensuring children in communities across the U.S. continue to have free access on public television to the ‘Sesame Street’ they love.”
Sesame Workshop said they are “grateful” for the partnership between the streamer, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“Their combined support advances our mission and ensures we can help all children — everywhere — grow smarter, stronger, and kinder,” the statement concluded.
The move to Netflix comes after Warner Bros. Discovery did not renew its deal for “Sesame Street” on its streaming platform Max, a.k.a. HBO Max.
This new deal also comes after President Donald Trump signed the Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media, which instructed the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and further requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations.
The White House said the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”
Following the move, a parody Elmo account took to the employment social media site, LinkedIn, to announce that the three-and-a-half-year-old was looking for work after being laid off.
At the time, a spokesperson for the Sesame Workshop also told Nexstar that the production company and PBS would continue to champion “critical early learning initiatives through public TV.
“We remain firmly in support of the vital public investment that allows PBS to continue this important work,” the Sesame Workshop spokesperson said.
