Big Bird has suddenly taken center stage in the presidential campaign Courtesy of TM and ©2009 Sesame Workshop. Big Bird has emerged as the surprise star of the 2012 campaign. Mitt Romney says he likes Big Bird but wants to cut federal funding to PBS, while the big yellow bird has appeared in an ad made by President Obama’s campaign. Why is Sesame Street on public television, anyway? Because the networks turned it down. In 1967, a couple of years before the first episode of Sesame Street aired on PBS, one of the co-founders of the Children’s Television Workshop pitched the concept to executives at NBC and CBS. They both passed on the opportunity, as did Time-Life Broadcasting and Westinghouse. The problem wasn’t that the show was for children: Captain Kangaroo had already been a modest success on CBS for 12 years, and the networks had offered periodic programming for preschoolers. But Children’s Television Workshop was a somewhat revolutionary idea in 1967. It had a strongly academic bent, drawing together child psychiatrists and child-development researchers from the ivory tower in a way that suggested profit wasn’t their motivation.

Its executives also refused to allow commercials to interrupt the program, although they were open to ads at the beginning and end. The Children’s Television Workshop leadership also insisted that the show focus on disadvantaged urban kids, rejecting calls from television producers that they broaden the target demographic to all preschool children. PBS desperately needed a winner in the late 1960s and was willing to take a chance. Some PBS programming was so poor that the New York Times television critic noted, “congressmen could scarcely be blamed for wondering if a huge permanent investment in noncommercial video is warranted.” Sesame Street was exactly the kind of innovative show that could change the narrative about public broadcasting. Advertisement It’s an odd quirk of history that Bert and Ernie’s first-ever television appearance came not on PBS, but in a preview on NBC. And commercialism was the first thing viewers saw: A Muppet noted that Xerox had sponsored the preview, in a move that infuriated some Sesame Street executives. Sesame Street has always had an uncomfortable relationship with money. After the show became a smash success, producers worried that the foundations that paid to get the show off the ground would expect it to sustain itself. Some executives adamantly opposed any attempt at merchandising.

Even Jim Henson, who was already making money merchandising his comedic Muppets, opposed doing the same with more the educational Sesame Street characters. Eventually, however, the prospect of become a self-financing model convinced most of the creators that Oscar the Grouch dolls wouldn’t tarnish the program. Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer . Brian Palmer covers science and medicine for Slate. Sesame Street | Muppet Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Elmo's World: Friends from Season 37 The main cast from Season 40 Sesame Street is an educational television program designed for preschoolers, and is recognized as a pioneer of the contemporary standard which combines education and entertainment in children's television shows. Sesame Street also provided the first daily, national television showcase for Jim Henson's Muppets. In 2009, the series celebrated its 40th anniversary , making it one of the longest-running shows in television history. The series has now produced over 4,400 episodes . Sesame Street is produced in the United States by Sesame Workshop , formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW).

It premiered on November 10, 1969 on the National Educational Television network, and later that year it was moved to NET's successor, the Public Broadcasting Service. In 2015, Sesame Workshop struck a deal with HBO to air first-run Sesame Street episodes for the next five seasons, beginning with season 46 airing in January 2016. Re-runs will continue to air on PBS, though with a nine-month window between their debut on HBO. [1] Because of its widespread influence, Sesame Street has earned the distinction of being one of the world's foremost and most highly regarded educators of young people. Few television series can match its level of recognition and success on the international stage. The original series has been televised in 120 countries, and more than 20 international versions have been produced. In its long history, Sesame Street has received more Emmy Awards than any other program, and has captured the allegiance, esteem, and affections of millions of viewers worldwide.

Contents [ show ] Overview Sesame Street uses a combination of puppets, animation, and live actors to teach young children the fundamentals of reading (letter and word recognition) and arithmetic (numbers, addition and subtraction), as well as geometric forms, cognitive processes, and classification. Since the show's inception, other instructional goals have focused on basic life skills, such as how to cross the road safely and the importance of proper hygiene and healthy eating habits. There is also a subtle sense of humor on the show that has appealed to older viewers since it first premiered, and was devised as a means to encourage parents and older siblings to watch the series with younger children, and thus become more involved in the learning process rather than letting Sesame Street act as a babysitter. A number of parodies of popular culture appear, even ones aimed at the Public Broadcasting Service , the network that broadcasts the show. For example, the recurring segment Monsterpiece Theater once ran a sketch called "Me Claudius." Children viewing the show might enjoy watching Cookie Monster and the Muppets, while adults watching the same sequence may enjoy the spoof of the Masterpiece Theater production of I, Claudius on PBS.

Several of the character names used on the program are puns or cultural references aimed at a slightly older audience, including Flo Bear (Flaubert), Sherlock Hemlock (a Sherlock Holmes parody), and H. Ross Parrot (a parody of Reform Party founder H. Ross Perot ). Over 200 notable personalities have made guest appearances on the show, beginning with James Earl Jones , and ranging from performers like Stevie Wonder to political figures such as Kofi Annan . By making a show that not only educates and entertains kids, but also keeps parents entertained and involved in the educational process, the producers hope to inspire discussion about the concepts on the show. History of the show See Sesame Street milestones Joan Ganz Cooney sharing a laugh with Ernie and Bert. Following an initial proposal by Joan Ganz Cooney in 1966, titled "Television for Preschool Children," an eighteen month planning period was set aside, and with a grant of 8 million dollars from multiple government agencies and foundations, the proposed series would test the usefulness of the television medium in providing early education for young children.

Apart from Cooney and the original planning crew included several veterans of Captain Kangaroo, such as executive producer David Connell , producer Samuel Y. Gibbon, Jr. , and writer/songwriter Jeff Moss , as well as head writer Jon Stone , and producer/writer Matt Robinson (who later originated the role of Gordon ). At Cooney's suggestion, Jim Henson and the Muppets were brought in, and composer Joe Raposo followed. The CTW research crew included Harvard professor Gerald S. Lesser as head of the board of advisers and Edward L. Palmer as director of research, tracking and observing how child audiences responded to the programming. Though the earliest pilot episodes involved dramatizing the inner thoughts of child actors in a studio set , Jon Stone suggested a more urban setting, " a real inner city street ," with an integrated cast of neighbors. The original human inhabitants were Bob , Mr. Hooper , Gordon, and Susan , and they dominated the street storylines which made up roughly 25 percent of the hour-long show. To maintain the realism of the street, the Muppets were kept separate; thus, Ernie and Bert , while they lived on the street, resided in a basement apartment.

These framing scenes would surround segments of animation, live-action shorts, and Muppets. These sketches, in particular the short animated segments stressing letters and numbers , were intended to function on a similar level to advertising commercials (and indeed, the bits were often labeled as such, i.e. "the J commercial", and during the earliest seasons it was common for letter or number films and cartoons to be shown multiple times in the same episode). They were quick, catchy and memorable, so as to convey information and maintain the interest of preschool children within their limited attention spans. CTW aired the program for test groups to determine if the new format was likely to succeed. Results showed that the elements which best held audience attention included cartoon segments, the Muppets, filmed footage of animals in motion, or musical skits with Susan or other human cast members. When the action stopped in the street scenes, and the adults engaged in lengthy dialogue, children stopped watching. Based on these results, and despite concerns from advising psychologists, that the inner-city street overlooked the real problems of the ghetto and needed firmer roots, the mixture of reality and fantasy was deepened, as Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird became permanent street residents, interacting with the human adults.

Sesame Street is all filmed in New York City (as was another CTW show, The Electric Company ). Originally they were taped at Teletape Studios in Manhattan, but since Sesame's twenty-fifth season (when the street expanded around the corner and needed more space), the show has been filmed at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in neighboring Queens. Broadcast history The show is broadcast worldwide; in addition to the U.S. version, many countries have locally-produced versions adapted to local needs, some with their own characters, and in a variety of different languages. One hundred and twenty countries have aired the show, many of which partnered with Sesame Workshop to create local versions. In the late 1990s, versions popped up in China and Russia as these countries shifted away from communism. There is also a joint Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian project, called Sesame Stories, which was created with the goal of promoting greater cultural understanding. The show has also spawned the spin-off series Play with Me Sesame , and the classic episodes show Sesame Street Unpaved , both seen on the Noggin cable network; as well as the segment-only series Open Sesame .

Elmo's World and Global Grover , both segments on Sesame Street, have been distributed internationally as individual series. Ratings As a result of its success in revolutionizing the standards of children's television, Sesame Street paved the ground for the development of similar competitors and thus inadvertently diminished its own audience share. According to PBS Research, the show has gone from a 2.0 average on Nielsen Media Research's "people meters" in 1995-96 to a 1.3 average in 2000-01. Even with this decrease, Sesame Street's viewership in an average week comes from roughly 5.6 million households with 7.5 million viewers. This placed Sesame at 8th place in the overall kids' charts in 2002. It was the second most-watched children's television series for mothers aged 18-49 who have children under the age of 3. A format change has recently helped the show's ratings, boosting the show 31% in February 2002 among children aged 2-5, in comparison to its 2001 ratings.

As of 2005, the show is in the top 10 shows for kids 2-5, with 3 other PBS shows. [2] Characters See Sesame Street Characters . Sesame Street is known for its multicultural elements and is inclusive in its casting, incorporating roles for disabled people, young people, senior citizens, Hispanic actors, black actors, and others. As recalled by CTW advisor Gerald S. Lesser in his book Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street , this integration initially led the Mississippi State Commission for Educational Television to ban the series, as did other states, though it was eventually reinstated. Mutual tolerance and cross-cultural friendship is also conveyed through the Muppet characters, who come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors and range from the humanoid Anything Muppets to various animals to Monsters , Birds , Grouches , Dingers and Honkers all of whom, especially the Grouches, have their own unique perspectives and ways of communicating with their neighbors. Yet they all manage to live in relative peace and harmony, setting an example for child viewers not to prejudge others.

Tying in with its multiculturalist perspective, the show pioneered the idea of occasionally inserting very basic Spanish words and phrases to acquaint young children to the concept of knowing more than one language. This was expressed as early as the show's second season, with Susan and Gordon speaking a second language or learning phrases from newer Hispanic characters such as Antonio, Rafael, Luis, and Maria. One 1973 storyline involved the opening of a bilingual library, while other segments taught French or sign language. The recently revamped format gives Rosita , the bilingual Muppet who joined the cast in 1991 , more time in front of viewers, and also introduced the more formalized Spanish Word of the Day segment in every episode. French phrases were used very occasionally during the 1970s, and sign language has played a major role throughout the years, through Linda and visits from the National Theatre of the Deaf . Many of the Muppet characters have been designed to represent a specific stage or element of early childhood, and the scripts are written so that the character reflects the development level of children of that age. This helps the show address not only the learning objectives of various age groups, but also the concerns, fears, and interests of children of different age levels.

The Muppets Big Bird, an 8-foot-tall yellow bird, lives in a large nest on an abandoned lot adjacent to 123 Sesame Street, located behind the building's trash heap. A regular visitor to Big Bird is his best friend Mr. Snuffleupagus , or Snuffy as everyone calls him. Oscar the Grouch, Sesame Street's local Grouch and his pet worm Slimey live in a trash can in the heap. Oscar's most-seen regular visitor is his girlfriend Grundgetta . Best friends Ernie and Bert room together in the basement apartment of 123 Sesame Street where they regularly engage in comedic banter. Ernie's window box, though seen less often in recent years, is the home of the Twiddlebugs a colorful family of insects. The bear family from Goldilocks and the Three Bears resides on Sesame Street. The family, headed by Papa Bear and Mama Bear welcomed their second child Curly Bear in 2003. Their son Baby Bear is a good friend of monsters Telly , Zoe , Mexican-born Rosita and Elmo .

Beginning in 1998, Elmo was given his own segment, Elmo's World , occupying most of the show's second half as viewers explore topics in a crayon-drawn, imaginary version of Elmo's apartment. In 2012, Elmo's World was replaced by a new segment, Elmo the Musical . Grover 's segment, "Global Grover," followed the self-described "lovable, furry pal" around the world exploring local cultures and traditions. Grover also has a super hero persona, Super Grover , and starting in 2010, he received an upgrade and appears in sketches as Super Grover 2.0 . Cookie Monster fought with his conscience daily during the Letter of the Day segment, as he tried to control his urges to eat the letters, drawn in icing on cookies. Prairie Dawn often attempted to help Cookie refrain from eating the letters, but would always leave frazzled. Count von Count had fewer problems during the Number of the Day segment where he indulged in counting until the mystery number was revealed by his Pipe Organ .

From 1993 to 1998, Sesame Street's set expanded to Around the Corner locations, which introduced several new Muppets, such as Humphrey and Ingrid , they worked at Sherry Netherland 's hotel, The Furry Arms , with their baby Natasha in tow, while bellhop Benny Rabbit begrudgingly helped out. In 2006, fairy-in-training Abby Cadabby moved to the street, and in starting 2009, she received her own CGI animated segment, Abby's Flying Fairy School , which includes new characters; her fellow students Gonnigan and Blögg , teacher Mrs. Sparklenose , and class pet Niblet . Kermit the Frog hosted the segment " Sesame Street News Flash ". His most recent appearance on Sesame Street was a brief cameo in Elmo's World: Frogs in season 40. The Two-Headed Monster sounded out words coming together, and the the Martians discovered telephones and typewriters. For two seasons, Googel , Narf , Mel and Phoebe hung out in the Monster's Clubhouse .

Other characters over the years have included game show host Guy Smiley , construction workers Biff and Sully , the large Herry Monster (who does not know his own strength), and The Big Bad Wolf , who is not a terror to the Street. Forgetful Jones , a cowboy with a short-term memory disorder, rode trusty Buster the Horse with his girlfriend Clementine , and Rodeo Rosie was an early cowgirl character. The humans A slate of human regulars pull the zaniness of the Muppets back to reality, and serve different pedagogical functions, showing literal integration and tolerance rather than metaphorically through colorful Muppets, and representing different personalities and adult "roles" and occupations. Music teacher Bob has been on Sesame Street since its inception. For several years, he had a close friendship with Linda , the local librarian who was the first regular deaf character on television. The Robinsons are an African-American family that includes schoolteacher Gordon , nurse Susan , and adopted son Miles . Maria and Luis Rodriguez are a Hispanic couple who run the Fix-It Shop . Maria gave birth to daughter Gabi in 1989, and her pregnancy was covered on the show.

In 2011, Maria became the superintendent of 123 Sesame Street. Candy store operator Mr. Hooper was a mainstay at Hooper's Store during the show's first decade. Actor Will Lee died in 1982 and when the producers opted to help their young viewers deal with the death of someone they loved rather than cast a new actor in the role, the character's death was discussed in a landmark 1983 episode . Afterwards, Mr. Hooper's apprentice, David , inherited the store and was assisted by Gina . Next came Mr. Handford , who ran the store for several seasons before turning it over to Alan , the current proprietor of Hooper's, in 1998. Gina stopped working at the store in the 1990s to earn a degree, and is currently a veterinarian. The show's most recent humans are Gordon and Susan's nephew, Chris , who works at Hooper's Store, Leela , who runs the laundromat, Armando , a Puerto Rican resident and writer, and Nina , a babysitter who works at the bike shop. Mr.

Noodle and his brother and sister , who appeared only in Elmo's World were meant to provide a vaudevillian perspective on subjects, contrary to most of the show's current human characters. Inserts In addition to the street scenes and the Muppet segments which would eventually dominate the show, Sesame Street has made considerable use of film inserts subcontracted to a variety of filmmakers and artists. These inserts have used a variety of techniques, from filmed skits and documentary footage to cel animation, stop-motion, CG, and pixillation. Some of the innumerable contributors have included William Wegman (with Fay Ray and his other dogs), Bud Luckey , Jeff Hale and his Imagination Inc. studio, Sally Cruikshank , Bruce Cayard , and Pixar , as well as staffers such as Mo Willems , David Rudman , Frank Oz, and Jim Henson. Notable recurring inserts, which became as much a part of the show's fabric as the Muppets and human cast, include the Mad Painter , " Pinball Number Count ," the Number Song Series with its falling baker, and Teeny Little Superguy , to name a few.

Regional variations of the show See International Sesame Street Research Sesame Street has maintained a rigorous research standard since its foundation, to ensure that the programming is addressing the needs of its viewers. The Education and Research (E&R) department of Sesame Workshop is currently headed by Rosemarie T. Truglio, Ph.D. and Jeanette Betancourt . Truglio states that the level of interaction between E&R, Content, and Production is "intimately hand-in-hand. They are not creating anything without our knowledge, our guidance and our review. We are involved in content development across all media platforms." This close-knit organizational structure has been an integral part of Sesame Workshop since it began. Writers create plots for Sesame Street scenes and segments, and the content is reviewed by the E&R team. They have authority to reject a script and force rewrites if the content is not acceptable. When a script is factually correct, but includes gray areas that may not be comprehensible to children, the writers and E&R work together to tweak everything. "A balance between content and humor" is always maintained, according to Truglio.

[3] Since 1998, Sesame Workshop has provided extensive content on its website and others such as Random House [1] . Content ranges from birth to school-age, and includes information on dozens of topics, such as appropriate parenting techniques, dealing with children's fears, development of literacy, and maintenance a good health. Research is funded by government grants, corporate and private donations (including, recently, The Prudential Foundation for the Sesame Beginnings program), and the profits gained from the sale of Sesame Workshop merchandise. Healthy Habits for Life In 2005, Sesame Street launched its Healthy Habits for Life programming, to encourage young viewers to lead more active and nutritious lifestyles. A major catalyst for this was data published by the US Centers for Disease Control regarding obesity in children. Health content has existed on Sesame Street for years, but to a limited extent. In one instance press kits for a project were made available, news wires latched onto the story, and literally hundreds of newspapers touted that Cookie Monster was "going on a diet". In actuality there was no change to Cookie's character.

The new season featured a new segment with rapper Wyclef Jean singing the praises of fruits and vegetables, similar to the 1990s segment " Healthy Food ", with a rapping Cookie Monster backed by a healthy food chorus . According to people from Sesame Workshop, "Health has always been a part of our Sesame Street curriculum, therefore we will always be committed to ensuring kids are given information and messages that will help them become healthy and happy in their development. For season 36, we have turned up the dial in health, but it will always be part of our curriculum." The Workshop formed an Advisory Board consisting of experts like Woodie Kessel, M.D., M.P.H., the Assistant Surgeon General of the United States. This board examines the research of other organizations, and also conducts pilot studies to determine which areas of research should be expanded, based on social, ethnic and socio-economic sections of the population. Merchandising Sesame Street is known for its extensive merchandising, which includes many books, magazines, video/audio media, toys, and the " Tickle Me Elmo " craze.

Its fiction books, published primarily by Random House , always display a notice stating that money received from the sale of the publications is used to fund Sesame Workshop, and often mention that children do not have to watch the show to benefit from its publications. Today there is a live touring show, Sesame Street Live , which has traveled across North America since 1980. There is also the Sesame Place theme park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, and a Plaza Sésamo theme park in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. In addition, there is a three-dimensional movie based on the show, at Universal Studios Japan. Current licencors include Nakajima USA, Build-A-Bear Workshop (Build-An-Elmo), Hasbro ( Sesame Street Monopoly ), Wooly Willy, and Children’s Apparel Network. For Sesamstaat, Rubotoys has been a licensor since February 2005. In recent years, adults have been encouraged to remember their childhood through retro-targeted products, like action figures from Palisades Toys , though only one, a special con edition of Super Grover , was released.

The Sesame Beginnings line, launched in mid-2005, consists of apparel, health and body, home, and seasonal products. The line is targeted towards infants and their parents, and products are designed to increase interactivity. Most of the line is exclusive to a family of Canadian retailers. Creative Wonders (a partnership between ABC and Electronic Arts) produced Sesame Street software for the PC. Internationally Alam Simsim, Plaza Sésamo, Rechov Sumsum, Sesame, Sesamstraße, Sesamstraat, Barrio Sésamo, 1 Rue Sésamo, 5, Rue Sésame, Zhima Jie, Sesam Stasjon, Sesame Street Japan, Sisimpur, Takalani Sesame, Ulitsa Sezam, and Vila Sésamo have all had merchandise of their local characters. Shalom Sesame videos and books have also been released. In 2004, Copyright Promotions Licensing Group (CPLG) became Sesame Workshop's licensing representative for the Benelux.

Movies and specials See Sesame Street Specials Criticism Some educators criticized the show when it debuted, claiming that its format would contribute to shortening children's attention spans. This concern still exists today, although there is no conclusive proof of this being the case, even after more than 40 years of televised shows. In a letter to the Boston Globe, Boston University professor of education Frank Garfunkel commented, "If what people want is for their children to memorize numbers and letters without regard to their meaning or use -- without regard to the differences between children, then Sesame Street is truly responsive. To give a child thirty seconds of one thing and then to switch it and give him thirty seconds of another is to nurture irrelevance." In the magazine Childhood Education, Minnie P. Berson of State University College at Fredonia asked "Why debase the art form of teaching with phony pedagogy, vulgar sideshows, bad acting, and layers of smoke and fog to clog the eager minds of small children?" These "vulgar sideshows" have since won a record 101 Emmys , suggesting a measure of disagreement from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

For an animated segment on the letter "J", the writers included "a day in jail", justifying it by stating that words beginning with "J" were sparse. This drew criticism from San Francisco Chronicle columnist Terrence O'Flaherty, despite executive producer David Connell's assertion that kids would be familiar with the word through shows like Batman and Superman . Even with its attempts to help the underprivileged, the series received criticism. Educator Sister Mary Mel O'Dowd worried that the show might start to replace "personalized experiences". "If Sesame Street is the only thing ghetto kids have, I don't think it's going to do much good. It never hurts a child to be able to count to ten or recognize the letters of the alphabet.

But without the guidance of a teacher, he'll be like one of our preschoolers who was able to write "CAUTION" on the blackboard after seeing it on the back of so many buses, and told me 'That says STOP.'" Trivia Some notable rumors about Sesame Street over the decades include Bert and Ernie's relationship , the dubious claim that they were named for characters in It's a Wonderful Life , the death of Ernie by cancer , the introduction of a Muppet with AIDS , Cookie Monster becoming the Veggie Monster , and Elmo toys corrupting children . See also: Category:Rumors The Sesame Street theme song is "(Can you tell me how to get, how to get to) Sesame Street." Harmonica legend Toots Thielemans plays the song as a solo in some versions of the sequence, and for years, his recording of the theme was used in extended sequences of the show's closing credits. Although rubber duckies existed before Sesame Street, their pop culture icon status was mostly spurred on by Ernie's Rubber Duckie song, and subsequent appearances of Ernie's bath toy.

Sesame Street made TV Guide's list of the 50 greatest all-time shows, ranking at number 27. Other shows that made the list was The Cosby Show , Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In , The Simpsons , Saturday Night Live , and Seinfeld ; the last of these ranked number one on the list. Sesame Street made Channel 4's list of the 100 greatest kids' all-time shows, ranking at number 30. [4] On the BBC 's The TV That Made Me, Alex Jones chose Sesame Street as her earliest TV memory. Historic Episodes Sesame Street | Preschool Games, Videos, & Coloring Pages Helping kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. © 2017 Sesame Workshop ‘Sesame Street’ goes to HBO and makes it clear why we should fund the arts - The Washington Post ‘Sesame Street’ goes to HBO and makes it clear why we should fund the arts The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published.

You’re all set! By Alyssa Rosenberg By Alyssa Rosenberg August 13, 2015 Follow @AlyssaRosenberg First lady Michelle Obama participates in a “Let’s Move” and “Sesame Street” public service announcement taping with Big Bird in the White House Kitchen in 2013. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) The news that the beloved children’s television program “Sesame Street” will begin airing on HBO, with new episodes coming to public broadcasting stations nine months after their initial run on premium cable , has prompted understandable dismay. The deal will allow “Sesame Street” to produce many more episodes per season than it did under its current revenue model, but as incoming New York Times television critic James Poniewozik pointed out on Twitter , the question is one of unpleasant perception: The show, he wrote, “is a landmark of free public service TV, so [the move] feels wrong.” But this move to HBO ought to prompt more questions for us than for “Sesame Street” and the people who run it.

The show is a perfect example of the kind of thing that many of us feel instinctively ought to be some sort of public trust, but that we’re not exactly lining up to pay for as if the show were public infrastructure. This has been true from the beginning. The organization that would become the Children’s Television Workshop, and that developed “Sesame Street,” was supported by a mix of private funding and government grants. When the show was announced, the New York Times reported that “‘Sesame Street’ is budgeted at $8-million for its first 26 weeks. Half of that fund will come from the Carnegie and Ford Foundations, the other half from Federal funds coordinated by the United States Office of Education. The total, of which $1.5-million is still uncollected, will pay also for a year of continuous research into the learning and TV habits of youngsters, and the success of commercial television techniques in reaching them.” Federal funding may have helped stand up “Sesame Street.” Writing in the Weekly Standard in 2012, Jonathan V.

Last noted that “In 1981, the federal government pulled its funding from the [Children’s Television Workshop] because it was pretty obvious that Big Bird was big enough that he no longer needed taxpayer dollars. (It crept back in the form of government grants and a small portion of funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.) The Children’s Television Workshop had created not just an immensely popular program, but a mountain of intellectual property that could be profitably mined for decades. Which is exactly what they did.” And the Times, in the story reporting “Sesame Street’s” move to HBO, noted that the show has gotten about 10 percent of its funding from PBS, which itself is supported by a mix of funding sources, including the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, corporate sponsorships and personal donations from viewers. It’s no mistake that the Weekly Standard was heralding the way “Sesame Street” relies on market forces, rather than public support. “Sesame Street” may feel like a public resource, but it’s also been used as evidence that such resources can thrive on their own, and to suggest that programs that rely on public funding do so only because they aren’t viable on their own.

This is perhaps the most common way to attack public funding for the arts, to suggest that taxpayer money is going to make things that no one wants, often because it’s sexual or abstract. But HBO’s contract with “Sesame Street” simultaneously demonstrates, once again, that the show is a valuable commodity, and makes one of the best, most underlooked arguments for public arts funding. It’s not, as I’ve written countless times before, about whether art exists or not. It’s about whether people who don’t live in areas with museums, or who can’t afford cable, much less premium cable subscriptions, have access to arts and culture. Private funding can build museums, but it may take public money to subsidize skyrocketing admission. Elmo products may keep “Sesame Street” alive and cranking out new episodes, but it was the PBS pipeline that made sure children of all economic backgrounds had access to new episodes at the same time. The move behind the HBO paywall won’t remove “Sesame Street” from the public airwaves entirely; everyone involved was smart enough to anticipate what a disaster that would be.

But it does sort children into tiers: those whose parents and schools will pony up for timely new episodes, and those who will have to wait. It’s not slamming the door shut entirely on poorer children and poorer school systems. But the whole affair does inject a note of difference and separation into a show that was always dedicated to the eradication of such distinctions. This may not be the outcome that we want. But it’s the outcome we were willing to pay for. Friendly neighbors may still meet on “Sesame Street.” Now, they’ll just be doing it nine months apart. opinions partners - Sesame Workshop partners partners Thanks to our funding partners We rely on our funders’ support to bring the Sesame Workshop mission to life. Their collective commitment enables us to harness the educational power of media to benefit children around the world. We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of our current sponsors and partners, without whom our work to educate and inspire children would not be possible.

divider UnitedHealthcare UnitedHealthcare, a proud sponsor of Sesame Street, partners with Sesame Workshop to provide families with tools and strategies for keeping children healthy through programs such as Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget, Lead Away!, A is for Asthma and We have the Moves. American Greetings Corporation, a Sesame Workshop partner, is now a proud sponsor of The Electric Company. divider Leadership Partners USAID Sesame Workshop’s initiatives in Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kosovo, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania are made possible by generous support from the American people through USAID. Corporation for Public Broadcasting Generous funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting supports The Electric Company and the Talk, Listen, Connect initiative, including the broadcast special When Parents Are Deployed. CPB is a private corporation funded by the American people. National Center for Telehealth & Technology The National Center for Telehealth & Technology provides generous funding for the Sesame Street for Military Families program which helps military families cope with the challenges of deployments, homecomings, changes and death of a loved one. divider The U.S. Department of Education The U.S.

Department of Education’s generous support funds educational children’s programming such as Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, and The Electric Company. PNC PNC Grow Up Great is proud to sponsor the Happy, Healthy, Ready for School program, including Math Is Everywhere, and a recent initiative For Me, for You, for Later. PNC Grow Up Great is a $350 million, multi-year initiative that began in 2004 to help prepare children from birth to age five for success in school and life. The Gruss Lipper Family Foundation Sesame Workshop is delighted to partner with the Gruss Lipper Family Foundation on Rechov Sumsum, the Israeli version of Sesame Street, and Shalom Sesame, a new series teaching American children about Israel and Jewish life. divider UnitedHealthcare UnitedHealthcare has partnered with Sesame Workshop in their Healthy Habits for Life initiative, offering resources for keeping children healthy and strong and setting the foundation for lifelong healthy habits through programs such as Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget, Lead Away!, A is for Asthma and We have the Moves. American Greetings American Greetings provides generous funding for Talk, Listen, Connect II and Emergency Preparedness initiatives.

American Greetings also supports Sesame Workshop’s educational outreach efforts in Israel. Merck Company Foundation The Merck Company Foundation is proud to support Sesame Street Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget, as well as Sesame Street programming in China and Brazil. divider Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Galli Galli Sim Sim, Sesame Workshop’s locally produced Indian version of Sesame Street, is made possible in part by support from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Sanlam Sanlam, a leading financial services company, has been a proud supporter of Takalani Sesame since 2000, helping millions of young South Africans prepare for success in school and in life. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides generous funding for our Healthy Habits for Life initiative. divider BAE Systems BAE Systems, a proud sponsor of Talk, Listen, Connect, supporting military families, is the premier global defense, security, and aerospace company and leverages its global capabilities to deliver the best for our men and women in uniform.

Mai Family Foundation The Mai Family Foundation proudly supports Takalani Sesame, the South African adaptation of Sesame Street that utilizes a range of media platforms and community initiatives to address the educational needs of South Africa’s children. Walmart Foundation Walmart provides generous funding to support military families through our Talk, Listen, Connect initiative as well as new programming to help our country’s most vulnerable children and families stay healthy and eat well on a limited budget. divider The Jim Joseph Foundation The Jim Joseph Foundation funds Shalom Sesame, a multimedia Jewish educational project for children, parents, and teachers in the U.S. The Foundation’s mission is to foster compelling, effective Jewish learning in the US. Funds of Jewish Education Sponsored by Gruss Life Monument Funds and UJA Federation of NY Funds of Jewish Education Sponsored by Gruss Life Monument Funds and UJA Federation of NY is proud to support the Shalom Sesame project, a multimedia Jewish educational project for children, parents, and teachers in the U.S. IDP Foundation, Inc.

The IDP Foundation’s generous partnership supports the funding and development of a teacher training program including a pilot series of video training modules and caregiver/teacher manuals for distribution in Ghana through a network of schools participating in the Foundation’s IDP Rising Schools Program as well as in Nigeria through the Workshop’s Sesame Square project. divider Fundación SHE The Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation through the Fundación SHE provides funding for the production of Barrio Sesamo, the Spanish adaptation of Sesame Street, with a focus on health, nutrition, the body, socio-economic well-being and social responsibility. Schwab Charitable Fund The Galli Galli Sim Sim Radiophone project, which addresses the educational needs of poor, disenfranchised children in India through an educational radio program with telephone and internet interfaces, is made possible in part by support from the Schwab Charitable Fund. MetLife Foundation MetLife Foundation proudly supports Dream, Save, Do, Sesame Workshop’s multimedia global financial empowerment initiative, which is intended to help children and the adults in their lives acquire healthy financial skills and behaviors.

The programming provides engaging content featuring the Sesame Street Muppets and language for discussion regarding setting goals, making plans, and taking small steps to achieve ones goals, as well as effective strategies for spending, saving, sharing, and donating. divider Mount Sinai Heart The Colombia Healthy Heart Initiative, under the auspices of Dr. Valentin Fuster and generously funded by the Santo Domingo family, is one of Mt. Sinai Medical Center’s global health projects and promotes healthy habits to Colombia’s children. Qualcomm Qualcomm is proud to partner with Sesame Workshop on innovative mobile education initiatives in the United States, India and China. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Sesame Street Water, a multi-media initiative promoting positive behaviors around sanitation and hygiene habits in children and their caregivers in Bangladesh, India, and Nigeria, is made possible by a generous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. divider Tetra Pak Tetra Pak is a proud supporter of Plaza Sésamo in Mexico, where together we are reaching children with important health and environmental content through messaging on milk cartons distributed to children in schools. The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation is proud to sponsor Every Day is a Reading and Writing Day.

The initiative supports early literacy development of children from birth to age five. CA Technologies CA Technologies is a generous sponsor of Little Discoverers: Big Fun with Science, Math and More. CA Technologies is proud to support the development of creative and interactive programs that engage children in early STEM learning. divider The Ted Arison Family Foundation (Israel) Bank of Jordan Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds Mississippi Public Broadcasting National Parks Foundation/National Parks Service National Science Foundation New York State Office of Mental Health Open Society Institute Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation Alan B. Slifka Foundation U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs U.S. Department of State Toys”R”Us Children’s Fund USO

Question: Who first funded Sesame Street?
Answer: Children's Television Workshop