Sesame Street: Who Owns the Show?

The ownership history and current status of Sesame Street is quite interesting. A common misconception is that HBO owns the beloved children's television series, but this is not accurate. Let's delve into the facts and explore the current ownership situation.

Ownership of Sesame Street

Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children’s Television Workshop, still holds the reins over Sesame Street. This non-profit organization not only owns all the characters but also continues to experiment with the show's format and production techniques. Despite rumors to the contrary, HBO does not own the full rights to Sesame Street. HBO's role is more limited to commissioning the series and paying for the first airing rights of each episode. This arrangement has been in place since 2000.

The Jim Henson Company's Involvement

The Jim Henson Company, a well-known puppet and production company, has its fingers in the Sesame Street pie as well. However, their involvement is not as extensive as one might think. While the Jim Henson Company previously owned the rights to the Muppets, they sold these rights to Sesame Workshop for $180 million in 2000. This sale brought all the rights, including the characters, to Sesame Workshop. In an interesting twist, the Jim Henson Company did join Sesame Workshop in bidding for the Muppets in 2003 when they were up for sale, but they lost out to Disney.

Ownership Details

According to the terms of the agreement between Sesame Workshop and HBO, HBO holds the exclusive right to broadcast each new episode for the first nine months after it is released. After this period, other broadcasters such as PBS in the United States and Treehouse TV in Canada are free to air the program. Sesame Workshop maintains full control over the series and the characters, as they are a charitable organization. The organization could theoretically sell the Sesame Street brand, but doing so would likely result in the loss of their biggest revenue source and most of their donors.

Conclusion

The ownership structure of Sesame Street is a blend of charitable organization and for-profit entities. Sesame Workshop retains all the rights and controls the production, while HBO partners exclusively with them for the initial airings. This unique arrangement has allowed Sesame Street to continue its mission of educating and entertaining children both in the United States and around the world.