Sesame Street Moves to Netflix: New Agreement After Trump’s Decision

The famous children’s program “Sesame Street” will now be aired on the streaming platform Netflix. This announcement followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to halt government funding to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). In a statement, Netflix described Sesame Street as a “beloved and significant corner of children’s media”, emphasizing that it fosters a love of learning in young hearts.

According to the agreement, Netflix will offer its 300 million subscribers a new season of the show and 90 hours of archived episodes. At the same time, Sesame Street will continue to be broadcast on PBS.

The show’s future had been in danger because one of its previous media partners — Warner Bros Discovery, which owns the HBO platform — decided not to renew its broadcasting rights.

Meanwhile, President Trump accused PBS and National Public Radio (NPR) of “biased and politically driven approaches” and signed an order cutting off their funding. Following that, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — the state body that supported both media outlets — canceled funding for children’s programs, including Sesame Street.

Under the new deal, PBS will have the right to air Sesame Street episodes on the same day they are released on Netflix.

Sesame Street was first aired on November 10, 1969. The show’s founders, Lloyd Morrisett and Joan Ganz Cooney, partnered with Harvard University’s School of Education to create a non-traditional method of teaching children. A team of psychologists analyzed child development and created an entertaining and educational program. They worked with Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, to develop characters like Big Bird, with a set designed to look like a city street.

Over the years, the show has educated multiple generations. The characters of Sesame Street made a big impact even beyond the small screen. For example, in 2002, Elmo spoke in the U.S. Congress about music education. And in 2006, as childhood obesity became a rising issue, the show introduced “Health Habits” segments to teach kids about healthy eating and physical activity. Cookie Monster explained that cookies are a “sometimes food” and educated children about a balanced diet.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama also visited the Sesame Street studio and participated in a segment on healthy eating.

Netflix has been paying increasing attention to children's content. Currently, about 15% of the platform's viewership consists of children’s programs. Additionally, Netflix announced new episodes of Peppa Pig and a mobile game for kids with coloring, puzzles, and games. The animated show follows a four-year-old pig named Peppa and her family living in a fictional British town.

Thus, Sesame Street is stepping into a new life on a new platform — a show we’ve known since childhood will now continue to educate and inspire children in the modern digital age. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!