HBO has a few new fuzzy residents in town! The premium cable network is partnering with Sesame Street for a five-year partnership starting this fall, Sesame Workshop and HBO announced Thursday, Aug. 13.
The nonprofit group behind the classic children’s show shared the news via Twitter, telling fans it was “pleased to announce” the new partnership.
According to the official press release, Sesame Street will air on HBO and its streaming services first, and the episodes will then air on PBS nine months later. The deal will also provide the classic show to PBS, long the home of Sesame Street, for free for the first time ever.
“Our new partnership with HBO represents a true winning public-private partnership model,” Sesame Workshop CEO Jeffrey D. Dunn said in a statement. “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.”
The iconic children’s show, which has taught young children to read and love learning since the 1969, will even be expanding its seasons. According to Sesame Workshop, the deal will allow the nonprofit to create 35 episodes a year as opposed to 18 as the long-running children’s show enters its 46th season this year.
HBO, which is home to popular series such as Game of Thrones and Veep, is not new to the children’s show genre. It previously aired Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock, among other kids' programming.
