'Sesame Street' moves to HBO: What will this mean for viewers?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Viewers may now need new directions to Sesame Street.
鈥淪esame Street,鈥� the educational children鈥檚 program that鈥檚 aired on public TV channels since its debut in 1969, is reportedly . The cable network is currently most well-known for adult fare like 鈥淕ame of Thrones,鈥� 鈥淭rue Detective,鈥� and 鈥淰eep.鈥�
The next five seasons of 鈥淪esame Street鈥� will be on HBO. PBS will continue to air 鈥淪esame Street," but the new installments won鈥檛 come to PBS until nine months after they air on HBO.
The new installments could appear by this fall and because of this new partnership, nearly twice as much 鈥淪esame Street鈥� content will be made.
In addition to HBO, new episodes of 鈥淪esame鈥� will be available on HBO Go, HBO On Demand, and HBO Now, the last of which allows viewers to subscribe to HBO without having cable. HBO Now is about $15 a month.
So, are families now going to be charged to watch 鈥淪esame Street鈥�?
Yes, if you want new episodes immediately. Some may object to the idea that viewers will be charged for the new installments. But this may not mean as much to other viewers.
After all, you don鈥檛 turn to 鈥淪esame Street鈥� for riveting cliffhangers 鈥� it鈥檚 a far different proposition to wait nine months for a new 鈥淪esame Street鈥� episode versus waiting almost a year to see, for example, fellow HBO show 鈥淭hrones,鈥� which is known for its plot twists.听
Interestingly, around two-thirds of children who watch 鈥淪esame Street鈥� reportedly aren鈥檛 turning to PBS to do so, either 鈥� they鈥檙e watching it .听
The move by HBO comes as streaming service Netflix is airing such children鈥檚 programming as 鈥淒ragons: Race to the Edge,鈥� which is based on the hit animated 鈥淗ow to Train Your Dragon鈥� movies, and 鈥淭he Adventures of Puss in Boots,鈥� which is based on the character of the same name from the 鈥淪hrek鈥� film series.
