Editing Sesame Street (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Sesame Street{{!}}History of ''Sesame Street''}}
''Sesame Street'' was conceived in 1966 during discussions between television producer [[Joan Ganz Cooney]] and [[Carnegie Corporation of New York|Carnegie Foundation]] vice president [[Lloyd Morrisett]]. Their goal was to create a children's television show that would "master the addictive qualities of television and do something good with them,"<ref name="davis-8">Davis, p. 8</ref> such as helping young children prepare for school. After two years of research, the newly formed Children's Television Workshop (CTW) received a combined grant of US$8{{nbsp}}million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|8|1969}}}} million in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US}} from the Carnegie Foundation, the [[Ford Foundation]], the [[Corporation for Public Broadcasting]] and the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]] to create and produce a new children's television show.<ref name="finch-53">Finch, p. 53</ref>

''Sesame Street'' was officially announced at a press conference on May 6, 1969. [[Joan Ganz Cooney]], [[Children's Television Workshop]]'s [[executive director]], said that ''Sesame Street'' would use the techniques of commercial television programs to teach young children. Live shorts and animated cartoons would teach young children the alphabet, numbers, vocabulary, shapes, and basic reasoning skills. By repeating concepts throughout an episode, young children's interest would be held while they learn the concepts. Guest cameos would help attract older children and adults. Cooney said that the name ''Sesame Street'' came from the saying "[[open sesame]]", which gives the idea of a place where exciting things occur. The show was given an initial six-month run to determine whether it was effective and would continue to air.<ref>Subber, Barbara (May 7, 1969). "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/281611029/ New ETV Show for Preschooler To Use 'Commercial' Techniques]". ''The Morning Call'' (Allentown, Pennsylvania). p. 51.</ref>

The program premiered on [[public broadcasting|public television]] stations on November 10, 1969.<ref name="brooke">{{cite news | last = Brooke| first = Jill | title = 'Sesame Street' Takes a Bow to 30 Animated Years | work = The New York Times | date = November 13, 1998 | url = http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/TV/9811/13/sesame.street/ | access-date = March 11, 2019}}</ref> It was the first preschool educational television program to base its contents and production values on laboratory and formative research.<ref name="palmer">Palmer & Fisch in Fisch & Truglio, p. 9</ref> Initial responses to the show included adulatory reviews, some controversy,<ref name="morrow-3"/> and high ratings.

[[File:Joan Ganz Cooney.JPG|thumb|left|180px|alt=Black and white photo of a smiling woman about fifty years of age and wearing a jacket and tied-up scarf|Co-creator [[Joan Ganz Cooney]]. Pictured 1985]]
[[File:Lloyd Morrisett and his birthday cupcakes.jpg|thumb|left|180px|[[Lloyd Morrisett]], co-creator. Pictured 2010]]
{{Quote box
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|quote     = I've always said of our original team that developed and produced ''Sesame Street'': Collectively, we were a genius.
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|source    = —''Sesame Street'' creator [[Joan Ganz Cooney]]<ref>Gikow, p. 26</ref>
}}

According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution."<ref>Davis, p. 220</ref> The cast and crew expanded during this time, with emphasis on the hiring of women crew members and the addition of minorities to the cast. The show's success continued into the 1980s. In 1981, when the federal government withdrew its funding, CTW turned to and expanded other revenue sources, including its magazine division, book [[Royalty payment|royalties]], product licensing, and foreign broadcast income.<ref name="odell">O'Dell, pp. 73–74</ref> Its curriculum has expanded to include more [[Affect (psychology)|affective]] topics such as relationships, ethics, and emotions. Many of its storylines have been inspired by the experiences of its writing staff, cast, and crew—most notably, the 1982 death of [[Will Lee]], who played [[Mr. Hooper]];<ref name="hellman-52">{{cite journal | last = Hellman | first = Peter | title = Street Smart: How Big Bird & Company Do It | journal = New York Magazine | volume = 20 | issue = 46 | page = 52 | date = November 23, 1987 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KOUCAAAAMBAJ&q=sesame%20street&pg=PA48 | issn = 0028-7369 | access-date = March 12, 2019}}</ref> and the marriage of Luis and Maria in 1988.<ref>Borgenicht, p. 80</ref>

By the end of the 1990s, the show faced societal and economic challenges, including changes in young children's viewing habits, competition from other shows, the development of cable television, and a drop in ratings.<ref>Davis, p. 320</ref> As the 21st century began, the show made major changes. Starting in 2002, its format became more narrative-focused and included ongoing storylines. After its 30th anniversary in 1999, due to the popularity of the Muppet [[Elmo]], the show also incorporated a popular segment known as ''[[Elmo's World]]''.<ref name="goodman">{{cite news | first = Tim | last = Goodman | title = Word on the 'Street': Classic children's show to undergo structural changes this season | url = http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/WORD-ON-THE-STREET-Classic-children-s-show-to-2877849.php | work = San Francisco Chronicle | date = February 4, 2002 | access-date = October 18, 2019}}</ref> In 2009, the show won the Outstanding Achievement Emmy for its 40 years on the air.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Eng |first1=Joyce |title=Guiding Light, Sesame Street to Be Honored at Daytime Emmys |url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/guiding-light-sesame-1009313/ |access-date=October 18, 2019 |work=TV Guide |date=August 28, 2009}}</ref>

In late 2015, in response to "sweeping changes in the media business"<ref name="movetohbo">{{cite news |last1=Pallotta |first1=Frank |last2=Stelter |first2=Brian |title='Sesame Street' is heading to HBO |url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/08/13/media/sesame-street-hbo/index.html |access-date=April 23, 2019 |work=CNN.com |date=August 13, 2015}}</ref> and as part of a five-year programming and development deal, [[pay television|premium television]] service [[HBO]] began airing first-run episodes of ''Sesame Street''. The episodes became available on PBS stations and websites nine months after they aired on HBO.<ref name="movetohbo"/> The deal allowed Sesame Workshop to produce more episodes—increasing from 18 to 35 per season—and to create a spinoff series with the ''Sesame Street'' Muppets, and a new educational series.<ref name="steel">{{cite news |last1=Steel |first1=Emily |title='Sesame Street' to Air First on HBO for Next 5 Seasons |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/business/media/sesame-street-heading-to-hbo-in-fall.html?_r=0 |access-date=April 23, 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=August 13, 2015}}</ref>

At its 50th anniversary in 2019, ''Sesame Street'' had produced over 4,500 episodes, two feature-length movies (''[[Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird|Follow That Bird]]'' in 1985 and ''[[The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland]]'' in 1999), 35 TV specials, 200 home videos, and 180 albums.<ref name="wallace"/> Its [[YouTube]] channel has over 24 million subscribers.<ref name="guthrie">{{cite news|last1=Guthrie|first1=Marisa|date=February 6, 2019|title=50 Years of Sunny Days on 'Sesame Street': Behind the Scenes of TV's Most Influential Show Ever|work=The Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/sesame-street-turns-50-how-a-childrens-show-revolutionized-television-1183031|access-date=March 11, 2019}}</ref> It was announced in October 2019 that first-run episodes will move to [[HBO Max]] beginning with the show's 51st season in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/3/20897104/sesame-street-streaming-hbo-max-warnermedia-pbs-disney-apple-streaming-wars|title=HBO Max locks down exclusive access to new Sesame Street episodes|last=Alexander|first=Julia|date=2019-10-03|website=The Verge|language=en|access-date=2019-10-03}}</ref> On December 13, 2024, it was announced that Max would not be renewing their contract to make episodes of ''Sesame Street'', meaning 2025 will be the last year for episodes made with Max. Episodes will be in the Max streaming library until 2027. A spokesperson for Sesame Workshop stated: "We will continue to invest in our best-in-class programming and look forward to announcing our new distribution plans in the coming months, ensuring that 'Sesame Street' reaches as many children as possible for generations to come."<ref>{{cite news|last=Shanfeld|first=Ethan|url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/sesame-street-new-episodes-will-not-air-on-max-1236248518/|title='Sesame Street' for Sale: Max Not Renewing Deal for New Episodes|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=December 13, 2024|access-date=December 13, 2024}}</ref>

On May 19, 2025, it was announced that ''Sesame Street'' would begin to air new episodes on [[Netflix]] and would continue to air new episodes on PBS, with new episodes being released on both platforms on the same day, as well as past seasons. This move would also include the acquisition of older episodes by Netflix.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weprin |first=Alex |date=2025-05-19 |title=‘Sesame Street’ Saved, Inks New Streaming Deal With Netflix |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/sesame-street-netflix-deal-pbs-1236221230/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=PBS KIDS Announces New SESAME STREET Deal |url=https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/pbs-kids-announces-new-sesame-street-deal/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=About PBS - Main |language=en}}</ref>