NETFLIX has struck a new deal that will see a popular kids show come to the streaming giants service.
The show was facing an uncertain future after losing funding but has been saved by the new Netflix deal.
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The new deal will see episodes released later this yearCredit: Getty
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Sesame Street has been on TV for decades and boasts hundreds of awardsCredit: Alamy
Sesame Street will be hosted on the streaming service with 90 hours of previous episodes and a whole new season added to the Netflix catalogue.
The move comes after HBO decided not to renew the 50-year-old show’s deal.
Sesame Street was threatened with cancellation in the wake of the news but has now been thrown a lifeline.
The deal will see new episodes of the beloved children’s show run on Netflix, PBS, and the PBS Kids app later this year.
No date has been announced for the premiere as of yet.
Warner Bros Discovery, who aired the show since 2016, decided not to renew its deal for new episodes to air on HBO and Max.
However, episodes of the children’s TV series will remain there until 2027.
The new series, to be aired on Netflix, will be the shows impressive 56th season.
Episodes in the new season will revolve around a single, 11 minute story.
Sesame Workshop said in a statement: “This unique public-private partnership will enable us to bring our research-based curriculum to young children around the world with Netflix’s global reach, while ensuring children in communities across the US continue to have free access on public television to the Sesame Street they love.”
Sesame Street has been entertaining children since 1969 with beloved puppet characters.
The show has won more than 200 Emmys in its long history.
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Characters like Elmo, Bert and Ernie, Big Bird and Cookie Monster lead the episodesCredit: AP
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Episodes are led by Big Bird and a cast of characters that educate children about colours, shapes and numbers.
Funding for the show was thrown into question earlier this year when President Trump issued an executive order to block funding for TV network PBS (Public Broadcasting Service).
The move resulted in federal funding for the show, among other TV programmes for kids, being cut.
Netflix’ new deal will see the show saved from an otherwise uncertain future.
The streaming giant called Sesame Street a “beloved cornerstone of children’s educational television.”
Netflix promised to keep fan favourite segments like Elmo’s world and Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck in the show.
The streaming service did hint at changes for the new season as well though, telling viewers to “expect new ways to play along.”
Sesame Street was co-founded by Lloyd Morrisett and Joan Ganz Cooney.
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Netflix hinted at minor changes to the showCredit: Getty Images – Getty
If you want to understand what’s going on in the streaming business, go find Elmo and Cookie Monster.
Netflix’s recent deal to stream the upcoming season of “Sesame Street” is, on its own, a major step in the entertainment giant’s effort to become a go-to destination for preschooler programming. At the same time, it’s a useful way to understand one of the media industry’s other big stories of the last week — Warner Bros. Discovery’s re-rebranding of its streaming service back to HBO Max.
First, the deal itself.
Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix will begin streaming the beloved children’s show’s upcoming 56th season, along with 90 hours of older episodes, later this year. New “Sesame Street” episodes will continue to air in the U.S. on PBS’ stations and digital platforms, the nonprofit Sesame Workshop’s longtime TV partner (which could use a win amid Congress’ efforts to defund public broadcasting). Episodes will premiere the same day on PBS and Netflix.
The new season will be released in three batches, and will include some format changes and the return of popular segments such as “Elmo’s World” and “Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck.” Episodes will now be built around one 11-minute story, reflecting the shorter attention spans of younger viewers. The partnership includes a new animated segment, “Tales from 123.” Additionally, Netflix will be able to develop “Sesame Street” video games.
Netflix is welcoming “Sesame Street” to its block after HBO parent company Warner Bros. Discovery opted not to re-up its deal for new episodes, citing a shift in corporate priorities during a period of harsh cost-cutting.
HBO — and by extension, the streaming service known until recently as Max — had been the home of “Sesame Street” for years. The company then called Time Warner inked its deal with Sesame Workshop a decade ago, before AT&T or David Zaslav and his Discovery empire entered the picture.
Having Big Bird appear on the exclusive and adult-skewing “Game of Thrones” network never made much sense, but the deal was a lifeline for Sesame Workshop and kept the show alive, though it raised concerns among parent groups.
After AT&T took over, WarnerMedia launched HBO Max, a much reviled rebranding that was meant to make room for more populist content, including “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory.” It also allowed for more kids’ programming, such as shows from Cartoon Network and Hanna-Barbera, along with “Sesame Street.”
Then came Zaslav, who stripped HBO from the streamer’s name entirely, leaving it as just Max. Part of the justification of the change was that the name HBO, while well known and respected among fancy people in New York and L.A., was a turnoff for Middle America and those who might otherwise sign up to binge-watch “Dr. Pimple Popper” and Guy Fieri.
The executives were also convinced that the HBO brand, known for “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City,” was a deterrent for parents.
This was the era when streaming services were trying to be everything to everyone, and were losing billions of dollars trying to catch up to Netflix. Few companies other than Walt Disney Co. and HBO had distinct brands that made sense to people outside corporate conference rooms.
The decision to excise the HBO moniker was widely derided at the time as flawed managerial thinking.
Larry Vincent, a professor at USC Marshall School of Business and former UTA chief branding officer, called it a “classic case of right question, wrong answer” that will go down alongside New Coke in the annals of marketing blunders.
The name HBO has historically stood for quality, to the point that when people try to describe Apple TV+’s boutique streaming strategy, they compare it to early HBO. Last week, in an effective mea culpa during the media business’ big upfront week of presentations for advertisers, the company said the service would be called HBO Max again.
“It just violated everything we know about how you build a premium brand,” Vincent said of the earlier rebrand. “HBO has been at this for 50 years. It connotes a certain level of quality…. What we see now is that this is a reset to going back to the default position, because they realized this was silly.”
The backpedaling move drew howls from social media, journalists and rivals. Even Max’s own X account joined in on the fun. Warner Bros. Discovery executives were bracing for whatever John Oliver would say Sunday night during his show, and the comedian — never shy about bashing his own bosses — did not disappoint.
The decision was an admission of a couple things: First, that trying to be an “everything store” for entertainment was foolhardy when Netflix and Amazon both serve that exact purpose; and second, that it was a mistake to shy away from the brand that makes the streaming offering special.
Casey Bloys, chairman of HBO and Max content, said in a statement that returning to the old name “clearly states our implicit promise to deliver content that is recognized as unique and, to steal a line we always said at HBO, worth paying for.”
As my colleague Stephen Battaglio recently pointed out, when media companies put out new streaming services these days, there’s a tendency to avoid the now-cliche plus sign and stick with the brand name consumers already understand.
For example, Disney’s new $30 a month ESPN flagship service is simply called ESPN (ESPN+ is already taken by a more limited service).
Under Bloys, HBO has continued its tradition of highly regarded original series, with recent examples including the latest seasons of “The White Lotus,” “The Last of Us” and “The Righteous Gemstones.”
The brand confusion is still real, though. I’ve spoken with agents and read publications that should know better that mistakenly think “Hacks” and “The Pitt” are HBO shows, when they’re actually Max originals. That may not be important to consumers, but within the industry and for artists, it matters.
As for preschool-focused programming such as “Sesame Street,” that’s no longer a priority for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming strategy. The company has said it now wants to focus on “stories for adults and families.”
People who want shows for their toddlers can find them almost anywhere, including for free on YouTube. Disney+, of course, has troves of kids content, including Australia’s acclaimed and much-watched “Bluey.”
And, increasingly, kids are tuning into Netflix, which is now the land of “Ms. Rachel,” “CoComelon” and “Blippi,” all of which rose to popularity on YouTube. Kids and family programming now accounts for 15% of the platform’s viewership, according to the company. Netflix also has “Peppa Pig” and “Hot Wheels Let’s Race.”
Suffice to say, if you want or need to turn your little ones into couch zombies for a while, Netflix has an increasingly crowded ZIP Code of shows for you.
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Cable’s consolidation continues with Friday’s announcement that Charter and Cox will merge in a $34.5-billion deal, uniting Southern California’s two major cable TV and internet providers.
The Charter-Cox combination would have 38 million customer homes in the nation, a larger footprint than longtime cable leader Comcast.
Of the many interesting aspects of the deal, this one is particularly relevant to Los Angeles residents — if approved by Charter shareholders and regulators, the merger would end one of the longest TV sports blackouts, my colleague Meg James reports.
Cox customers in Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and Orange County would finally have the Dodgers’ TV channel available in their lineups. For more than a decade, Cox has refused to carry SportsNet LA because of its high cost.
New Line Cinema’s horror franchise revival “Final Destination: Bloodlines” won the weekend box office with $51 million in the U.S. and Canada (more than $100 million globally), exceeding pre-release analyst estimates.
The horror genre’s power to draw moviegoers is undeniable. The marketing was clever (complete with morbid 3D billboards), and this series has built-in nostalgic value. The new grisly supernatural teen movie comes 14 years after the previous one, “Final Destination 5.” The audience response has been generally positive.
With a reported production budget of $50 million, this was a no-brainer, and another win for Warner Bros. chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy coming after “Minecraft” and “Sinners.” All eyes are now on James Gunn’s “Superman,” coming in July.
Finally …
Listen: “Chaise Longue” rock band Wet Leg has new music on the way. Here’s a preview.
The theme park rivalry in Orlando, Fla. is heating up.
This week, Universal will open its latest park, Epic Universe, a reportedly $7 billion bet for the Comcast-owned company and the newest salvo in its ongoing push to expand its tourism and entertainment empire.
That puts pressure on Walt Disney Co., whose Walt Disney World Resort has long dominated the Orlando vacation landscape, but is now seeing increased competition, particularly from Universal.
Sprawled across 750 acres, Epic Universe represents the biggest Universal theme park expansion since the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter 15 years ago.
It touts five different themed areas, four of which are tied to well-known franchises: “Harry Potter,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” Universal’s Dark Universe of classic movie monsters and Nintendo video game properties, in addition to a cosmic central Celestial Park hub.
The resort, which also includes three hotels, features technologically-advanced animatronics and detailed rides like Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, which showcases many of Universal’s monsters. Reviews of the park have been largely positive, with critics highlighting the immersive nature of the attractions.
“Comcast has come on so strong with what they’ve developed and brought forth in the Orlando market,” said Dennis Speigel, founder and chief executive of Cincinnati-based consulting firm International Theme Park Services Inc. “Over the last 15 years, they have brought that distance between Universal and Disney much closer, and it has really become a prize fight. It’s the most intense and competitive situation in the industry.”
Disney was the first of the two to the Orlando market back in 1971, when it opened the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. It wasn’t until 1990 that Universal opened its own Orlando park, giving Disney a nearly two-decade head start.
Today, Disney World has four theme parks and two water parks, while Universal Orlando will have three, including Epic Universe and Islands of Adventure (opened in 1999), and a water park, Volcano Bay (2017).
Though Universal was late to market, its 2010 opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter land across Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando pushed the theme park competition to new heights. Building a land solely around a specific intellectual property — instead of a general theme — was novel at the time, and the concept would later show up in Disney parks, such as Cars Land in Anaheim and later, “Star Wars”-themed lands in California and Florida.
Demand at the time for the “Harry Potter”-themed land pushed Universal’s attendance up 36% compared with the previous year, Speigel said.
“They realized after ‘Harry Potter’ that it was a new world order,” he said. “They’ve just kept the pedal to the metal on everything they’ve done in terms of growth and internal experience.”
There’s good reason for that.
Both Universal and Disney have honed in on theme parks as a profit-generating part of their business that is less volatile than the ever-changing media, television and film markets. Disney’s experiences division, which includes its theme parks and cruise lines, has long brought in the lion’s share of the company’s profit, particularly as pay TV shrinks.
“Disney has been pretty steady and consistent, but Universal is very rapidly expanding,” said Carissa Baker, an assistant professor of theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “They’re highly encouraging their theme park sector right now.”
Both companies have recently announced new properties — Disney in Abu Dhabi and Universal with a smaller kids resort in Texas, a theme park in Britain and a year-round Halloween Horror Nights-esque experience in Las Vegas.
“The plan is to keep driving growth in a business that we think we’re one of two players in a market that is, within media, not at all exposed to the shift in time on screens from one venue to another,” Comcast Corp. President Mike Cavanagh said during the company’s fiscal first quarter call with analysts last month. “Live experiences, parks experiences have been thrilling to people, and we think we lean into that and continue to do so.”
So far, he said, advance ticket sales and hotel bookings are “strong” for Epic Universe and the other Universal parks in Orlando. A one-day ticket starts at $139.
That’s why analysts have consistently flagged the upcoming park during earnings calls for rival Disney, querying executives about the potential pressure on Disney World and how the company plans to compete.
But if Disney is worried, it has shown little sign of it. Last week, Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said hotel bookings for the fiscal third quarter are up 4% compared with last year, with about 80% of available nights reserved. For the fourth quarter, bookings are up about 7%, with about 50% to 60% of capacity filled, he said.
That’s despite broader worries that concerns about a potential recession — spurred by President Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods — will dampen travel and consumer spending.
“Experiences is obviously a critical business for Disney and also an important growth platform,” company Chief Executive Bob Iger said on a recent earnings call. “Despite questions around any macro-economic uncertainty or the impact of competition, I’m encouraged by the strength and resilience of our business.”
The company has previously announced it is investing $30 billion into its parks in Florida and California, which will fund such additions as a “Monsters Inc.”-inspired land and a villains land in Disney World. The parks have also added attractions throughout the last 10 years, including the revamped Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride (which replaced Splash Mountain).
Disney is betting that the influx of visitors coming to Florida for Epic Universe will still make a stop at its parks. Last year, Orlando tallied more than 75 million visitors, up 1.8% compared with 2023, according to the Visit Orlando trade association. Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, said at an investor conference last week that Disney gets more tourists any time something new opens up in central Florida — even if it’s not a Disney property.
“If we just go back five or 10 years, and you think about what’s happened at Walt Disney World, we’ve always been on the offensive,” D’Amaro said. “If something is built new in Central Florida, like Epic Universe, and if it brings in additional tourists, I can almost guarantee you that new tourist coming into the market is going to have to visit the Magic Kingdom.”
For the first time, sports fans will be able to subscribe to ESPN without signing up for satellite or cable TV. It will cost $29.99 a month.
The Walt Disney Co. unit announced Tuesday that the new direct-to-consumer streaming service will go by the legacy name ESPN, a sign that the sports media behemoth sees streaming as the future. The launch date will be in early fall.
The standalone service will provide live feeds of all ESPN channels including ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS and ESPN Deportes. Users will also be able to stream ESPN productions airing on the ABC broadcast network, which include the NBA Finals and “Monday Night Football.”
The service will also be available in a streaming bundle, where consumers can get ESPN, Disney + and Hulu for $35.99. The bundle plan will be available at a discounted $29.99 for the first year.
“It’s going to redefine our business,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said at a press briefing held at Disney’s New York headquarters in lower Manhattan.
The unveiling of the new product is a significant moment for the company. The current streaming service ESPN+ offers the channels, but only to users who have pay TV.
As younger consumers have moved to streaming, they have left behind the cable universe their parents lived with. The new ESPN streaming product is aimed at attracting sports fans who are not buying pay TV.
“Our priority is looking at the 60 million households on the sidelines,” Pitaro said.
Pitaro said the brand name has meaning to younger consumers who spend time with it on social media and digital platforms even if they don’t watch on cable.
ESPN has long received the biggest cut of cable bills and as a result felt the most pain as consumers were giving up their pay-TV subscriptions. The network has managed to offset that revenue loss with increases in ad revenue and cost-cutting.
Under Pitaro’s watch, ESPN has locked up a number of major sports rights deals in recent years that he believes will strengthen the streaming offering. Last year, the company finalized a new 11-year deal to keep the NBA.
