Sesame Street becoming HBO exclusive

[Anonymous]

wtf?

that doesn't sit well with me. HBO signed up 5 year exclusive deal to carry sesame street with episodes available on PBS 9 months later for free.

sesame street is a national cultural icon. HBO should allows PBS to carry it simulcast.

[Anonymous]

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:wtf?

that doesn't sit well with me. HBO signed up 5 year exclusive deal to carry sesame street with episodes available on PBS 9 months later for free.

sesame street is a national cultural icon. HBO should allows PBS to carry it simulcast.

Thanks, Republicans.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0311/GOP_senators_put_Sesame_Street_on_chopping_block.html

[Anonymous]

If the Republicans are going to do this to PBS funding, I'm glad that HBO is picking it up and that the new episodes will eventually make it onto PBS. Having Sesame Street on PBS is a great educational outlet for children in poverty, who might not have access to things like high-quality preschool, or even parents who themselves can read and teach literacy.

[Anonymous]

It really doesn't matter that there's a 9 month delay to them getting to PBS. There will still be an ongoing pool of programming available, it just isn't the newest.

I think this is a cool, innovative solution.

[Anonymous]

Plus it means that LOTS (35 vs. 18 per year) more episodes will be shot and with better production values. It's not like the people who don't get HBO will be behind on the story ala Game of Thrones - the ABCs and 123s don't change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plus it means that LOTS (35 vs. 18 per year) more episodes will be shot and with better production values. It's not like the people who don't get HBO will be behind on the story ala Game of Thrones - the ABCs and 123s don't change.

But there is a higher risk of nude muppets. And dragons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Plus it means that LOTS (35 vs. 18 per year) more episodes will be shot and with better production values. It's not like the people who don't get HBO will be behind on the story ala Game of Thrones - the ABCs and 123s don't change.

But there is a higher risk of nude muppets. And dragons.

Muppet butts and such? I can't bear it!

[Anonymous]

And PBS will get the delayed Sesame Street episodes free. They were paying previously - now they can put that money towards other/new projects. Seems like a win all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the Republicans are going to do this to PBS funding, I'm glad that HBO is picking it up and that the new episodes will eventually make it onto PBS. Having Sesame Street on PBS is a great educational outlet for children in poverty, who might not have access to things like high-quality preschool, or even parents who themselves can read and teach literacy.

Do what? Did a law defunding PBS pass both houses of Congress? Did the President sign it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plus it means that LOTS (35 vs. 18 per year) more episodes will be shot and with better production values. It's not like the people who don't get HBO will be behind on the story ala Game of Thrones - the ABCs and 123s don't change.

You wouldn't think so, but my spouse and I recently bought some Sesame Street "old school" DVDs with episodes from the late '70s and early '80s, thinking it would be cool to show our young children the same stuff we watched. There's a disclaimer on the DVD menu that says they're intended for entertainment, and "may not meet the needs of today's preschoolers." Although I guess there's a big difference between 9 months and 40 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the Republicans are going to do this to PBS funding, I'm glad that HBO is picking it up and that the new episodes will eventually make it onto PBS. Having Sesame Street on PBS is a great educational outlet for children in poverty, who might not have access to things like high-quality preschool, or even parents who themselves can read and teach literacy.

Do what? Did a law defunding PBS pass both houses of Congress? Did the President sign it?

My understanding is that the Children's Television Workshop ( Sesame Street is the flagship show) has lost a lot of revenue in recent years due to declining sales in DVD's and licensing fees. There are pros and cons to this. The pros are that they will be able to make twice as many episodes and will have revenue to make other shows. The bad side is that affluent kids will get to watch the new episodes before kids who cannot afford HBO. The irony in this of course is that Sesame Street was created in the 1960's in the first place to help poor kids who are deprived of early education or live in homes without English speakers keep up with more affluent kids and close the education gap. Studies show that it succeeded greatly.
I think that in the long run, this is not really such a bad thing in a practical sense since those shows will be free on PBS 9 months later ( they will continue to show reruns until then on PBS). It is just sort of galling that a show created for lower-income kids is being made available to more affluent kids first. A sign of the times. Congress established PBS and NPR in 1967. That would never happen today. Mitt Romney famously told the debate moderator Jim Lehrer:

"I'm sorry Jim. I'm gonna stop the subsidy to PBS. I'm gonna stop other things," Romney said. "I like PBS, I like Big Bird, I actually like you too." Conservatives of course loved this moment.

PBS receives a tiny amount of Federal funding. To suggest that cutting it would have any impact on our budget deficit is absurd, but it would hurt PBS. It would be sad if our country could not find enough money to help subsidize great educational television.

[Anonymous]

So long as they don't take away my Dinosaur Train, I can handle a 9 month delay on Sesame Street.

[Anonymous]

While it's not really a big deal (unless the cede editorial control to HBO), symbolically it's very sad. The beauty of small kids of Sesame Street age is that any episode they haven't seen is new to them, so being nine months off cycle isn't a big deal. However, it's jus sad given the roots of Sesame Street that 05:50 referred to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While it's not really a big deal (unless the cede editorial control to HBO), symbolically it's very sad. The beauty of small kids of Sesame Street age is that any episode they haven't seen is new to them, so being nine months off cycle isn't a big deal. However, it's jus sad given the roots of Sesame Street that 05:50 referred to.

My guess is that the show ( and other shows they make for HBO) will become more entertainment and less educational.