The letters of the day on “Sesame Street” are H, B and O.
August 13, 2015 8:31 AM Subscribe
This morning, Sesame Street announced that the new season, which begins next month, will air on HBO.
"“Sesame Street” will still appear on PBS, which has aired the program since 1969. But new episodes will first appear on HBO, and then be provided to PBS after a pre-determined window of time. It was disclosed yesterday that PBS would run only half-hour episodes of “Sesame Street” in the fall, as opposed to a full hour – which has been the norm for years."
"“Sesame Street” will still appear on PBS, which has aired the program since 1969. But new episodes will first appear on HBO, and then be provided to PBS after a pre-determined window of time. It was disclosed yesterday that PBS would run only half-hour episodes of “Sesame Street” in the fall, as opposed to a full hour – which has been the norm for years."
On the other hand, it does free the writers to address adult themes, use more profane language, and create the longform story and character arcs that the discerning audience requires in today's viewing culture.
posted by DangerIsMyMiddleName at 8:36 AM on August 13, 2015 [165 favorites]
posted by DangerIsMyMiddleName at 8:36 AM on August 13, 2015 [165 favorites]
I'm of two minds here. On the one hand, Sesame Street is a public television institution. On the other hand, it's got to be expensive to produce. If this lets them make more episodes up to the same standards, then it's probably a good thing. Plus the other hook is that PBS will be able to air them "for free," which is also probably a good thing.
(16-month-old babyozzy doesn't care for the hour-long episodes anyway; she's not a fan of Abby's Flying Fairy School or Elmo's World.)
posted by uncleozzy at 8:37 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
(16-month-old babyozzy doesn't care for the hour-long episodes anyway; she's not a fan of Abby's Flying Fairy School or Elmo's World.)
posted by uncleozzy at 8:37 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
I've just moved and no longer subscribe to HBO, but I still plan to see episodes of the shows I like, don't ask me how. Anyways, even though I have a toddler this doesn't bother me because Sesame Street has been shite for decades now and the classics are still available on Netflix.
posted by Hoopo at 8:37 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Hoopo at 8:37 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
FINALLY THE SHOW ABOUT THE OCCULT HISTORY OF THE CALIFORNIA TRANSPORTATION NETWORK HBO PROMISED US!!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:41 AM on August 13, 2015 [55 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 8:41 AM on August 13, 2015 [55 favorites]
Doesn't this solve the problem of Republicans killing public television, which they consistently return to trying to do?
posted by wittgenstein at 8:42 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by wittgenstein at 8:42 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm just imagining the show immediately following being like Vice reporting on child heroin use in Syria or something.
posted by oceanjesse at 8:43 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by oceanjesse at 8:43 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
On the one hand this needs to be available to everyone and kids should be able to flip it on easily, on the other hand FUCK YEAH a Wire/Sesame Street mashup would be amazing! Omar teaches everyone how to whistle "Farmer in the Dell"! Elmo yelling "Omar comin!"
posted by nevercalm at 8:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by nevercalm at 8:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
This is Great News! For Peg + Cat!
posted by drezdn at 8:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by drezdn at 8:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Doesn't this solve the problem of Republicans killing public television, which they consistently return to trying to do?
No, because HBO is not public.
posted by oceanjesse at 8:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
No, because HBO is not public.
posted by oceanjesse at 8:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
Hoopo, Netflix is going to lose the Sesame Street catalog according to the nyt.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 8:45 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 8:45 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
It could have been Amazon Prime:
There's one, one lucky star!
That's two, two lucky stars!
Ha ha ha.
Three! That's three lucky stars!
One, two three, FOUR lucky stars!
Ah aha hahhaaaa!!! (thunder clap)
posted by Poldo at 8:45 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
There's one, one lucky star!
That's two, two lucky stars!
Ha ha ha.
Three! That's three lucky stars!
One, two three, FOUR lucky stars!
Ah aha hahhaaaa!!! (thunder clap)
posted by Poldo at 8:45 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
We don't have terrestrial TV. Only netflix and amazon prime. This changes absolutely nothing for our viewing habits. My kid won't know a time when TV wasn't on demand…It doesn't matter where it gets released first, as long as it gets released to the public easily. I'm upset that PBS is being gutted, but other than shortening the time of the show, this functionally doesn't change much for kids.
I mean, if PBS has to farm out all its content (at current quality levels) to other networks to produce, with the caveat they get to rebroadcast them late, I'm not sure kids really care, and as long as quality stays up, I'm not really sure this is an important issue…noteworthy, but not really earth shattering. Its not like Sesame Street is built off cliffhangers and internet spoilers.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:49 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
I mean, if PBS has to farm out all its content (at current quality levels) to other networks to produce, with the caveat they get to rebroadcast them late, I'm not sure kids really care, and as long as quality stays up, I'm not really sure this is an important issue…noteworthy, but not really earth shattering. Its not like Sesame Street is built off cliffhangers and internet spoilers.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:49 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
I'm glad if this means the show can stay on the air on PBS; but I also feel the same way I do about Reading Rainbow originally coming back as an iPad app "because that's where children are these days"--there is still no access like free television access. (Thankfully in Reading Rainbow's case there was the huge kickstarter campaign to increase access.) It feels viscerally wrong to me to see programs which were originally pitched for underprivileged children to come back in forms most accessible to children whose parents have money and tech savvy.
posted by Hypatia at 8:52 AM on August 13, 2015 [58 favorites]
posted by Hypatia at 8:52 AM on August 13, 2015 [58 favorites]
Admit it, haven't you always wanted to hear a muppet say "cocksucker?"
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:52 AM on August 13, 2015 [27 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:52 AM on August 13, 2015 [27 favorites]
For Peg + Cat!
Golly I love Peg + Cat. babyozzy is going to be Peg for Halloween if I have anything to say about it.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:52 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
Golly I love Peg + Cat. babyozzy is going to be Peg for Halloween if I have anything to say about it.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:52 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
I'm excited for the Avenue Q crossover where Oscar surfs the internet for porn with Trekkie Monster.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:53 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:53 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
It feels viscerally wrong to me to see programs which were originally pitched for underprivileged children to come back in forms most accessible to children whose parents have money and tech savvy.
Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup welcome to William Gibson Cyberpunk hell.
posted by selfnoise at 8:53 AM on August 13, 2015 [34 favorites]
Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup welcome to William Gibson Cyberpunk hell.
posted by selfnoise at 8:53 AM on August 13, 2015 [34 favorites]
Hoopo, Netflix is going to lose the Sesame Street catalog according to the nyt.
Joke's on them, I have backups
Also, we don't even get HBO Now in Canada so that is some bullshit. I wonder if they still have the license up here?
posted by Hoopo at 8:57 AM on August 13, 2015
Joke's on them, I have backups
Also, we don't even get HBO Now in Canada so that is some bullshit. I wonder if they still have the license up here?
posted by Hoopo at 8:57 AM on August 13, 2015
Since they're considering making a Deadwood movie, surely one day soon Al Swearengen will show up in Sesame Street. The letter of the day will be C, and Al will teach everyone a very special new word...
posted by sparkletone at 8:57 AM on August 13, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by sparkletone at 8:57 AM on August 13, 2015 [10 favorites]
Also announced: Mr. Noodle will now be played by Glenn Fleshler and also you should probably take your children out of the room when the Mr. Noodle skits begin because Elmo is going to ask him to go to some pretty dark places
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:57 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 8:57 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
So glad I'm not a kid now.
posted by double block and bleed at 8:58 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by double block and bleed at 8:58 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
From the NYT link: After nine months of programming exclusively on HBO, the shows also will be available free on PBS
That's what makes this OK to me; Sesame Street is not a time-sensitive program. If HBO is picking up production costs, then I figure it's OK that they get something out of the deal.
posted by JDHarper at 8:58 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
That's what makes this OK to me; Sesame Street is not a time-sensitive program. If HBO is picking up production costs, then I figure it's OK that they get something out of the deal.
posted by JDHarper at 8:58 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
Admit it, haven't you always wanted to hear a muppet say "cocksucker?"
It's like you've never seen Meet the Feebles.
posted by davros42 at 9:00 AM on August 13, 2015 [11 favorites]
It's like you've never seen Meet the Feebles.
posted by davros42 at 9:00 AM on August 13, 2015 [11 favorites]
SS used to have more than 100 new episodes (albeit with many sketches repeated) per season. Now they have something like 20. There was some interview with Bob McGrath *swoon* recently where he talked about how they barely use the humans at all any more.
I am sad.
posted by Melismata at 9:00 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
I am sad.
posted by Melismata at 9:00 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
I'm with JDHarper... If this meant the show wasn't going to be on PBS at all, I'd be more incensed.
Truth be told, my kids aren't/weren't huge Sesame Street fans. They're much more into other PBS kids shows like "Odd Squad", "Peg +Cat", "Wordgirl" and "Martha Speaks."
posted by drezdn at 9:02 AM on August 13, 2015
Truth be told, my kids aren't/weren't huge Sesame Street fans. They're much more into other PBS kids shows like "Odd Squad", "Peg +Cat", "Wordgirl" and "Martha Speaks."
posted by drezdn at 9:02 AM on August 13, 2015
uncleozzy: "Golly I love Peg + Cat."
I'm watching Peg + Cat RIGHT THIS MINUTE. "The Play Date Problem."
Archvillain was on yesterday, I love Archvillain.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:02 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm watching Peg + Cat RIGHT THIS MINUTE. "The Play Date Problem."
Archvillain was on yesterday, I love Archvillain.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:02 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
It feels viscerally wrong to me to see programs which were originally pitched for underprivileged children to come back in forms most accessible to children whose parents have money and tech savvy.
I've been trying to gather some artifacts that I can use to explain to my now very young kids what the postwar counterculture and mainstream liberal cultures that I grew up with looked and felt like. Because I'm sure that, to them, anything not oozing profiteering, rent-seeking, and data collection from EVERY FUCKING PORE will feel as alien as having to look at TV Guide to figure out what time "Sesame Street" is on. *
* OK, I'm sorry, but I'm really not sure how much more of this I can take.
posted by ryanshepard at 9:03 AM on August 13, 2015 [30 favorites]
I've been trying to gather some artifacts that I can use to explain to my now very young kids what the postwar counterculture and mainstream liberal cultures that I grew up with looked and felt like. Because I'm sure that, to them, anything not oozing profiteering, rent-seeking, and data collection from EVERY FUCKING PORE will feel as alien as having to look at TV Guide to figure out what time "Sesame Street" is on. *
* OK, I'm sorry, but I'm really not sure how much more of this I can take.
posted by ryanshepard at 9:03 AM on August 13, 2015 [30 favorites]
(Odd Squad is also fantastic adult viewing, if you're not already watching it, with all its callouts to Warehouse 13, Star Trek, Say Anything, Breakfast Club, Die Hard ... all by deadpan children. It's very hilarious.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:05 AM on August 13, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:05 AM on August 13, 2015 [8 favorites]
"The Play Date Problem."
Ah! It just occurred to me that this is the episode I was trying to reference a few months ago.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:05 AM on August 13, 2015
Ah! It just occurred to me that this is the episode I was trying to reference a few months ago.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:05 AM on August 13, 2015
JDHarper: From the NYT link: After nine months of programming exclusively on HBO, the shows also will be available free on PBS
Only for broadcast. All streamable rights, including all the streaming of old episodes, Electric Company, etc, go to HBO/HBO Go if I understand correctly.
posted by tittergrrl at 9:08 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
Only for broadcast. All streamable rights, including all the streaming of old episodes, Electric Company, etc, go to HBO/HBO Go if I understand correctly.
posted by tittergrrl at 9:08 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
well, probably a sign of things to come, and not in a good way.
posted by theora55 at 9:08 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 9:08 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
How long 'til they kill off all your favourite characters for ratings?
Elmo first please.
posted by adept256 at 9:10 AM on August 13, 2015 [11 favorites]
Elmo first please.
posted by adept256 at 9:10 AM on August 13, 2015 [11 favorites]
All streamable rights, including all the streaming of old episodes, Electric Company, etc, go to HBO/HBO Go if I understand correctly.
Oh boy, actually I will be pretty cheesed if I can't watch clip sets on the PBS Kids app anymore.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:11 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Oh boy, actually I will be pretty cheesed if I can't watch clip sets on the PBS Kids app anymore.
posted by uncleozzy at 9:11 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Also if you want your Sesame Street/HBO mashups, Sesame Street has done
Game of Chairs
True Mud
Eh, just go to the Sesame Parodies page.
Also Peter Dinklage did a Sesame Street skit where he was the "Simon" from "Simon Says" and everything he said, other people had to do.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:13 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Game of Chairs
True Mud
Eh, just go to the Sesame Parodies page.
Also Peter Dinklage did a Sesame Street skit where he was the "Simon" from "Simon Says" and everything he said, other people had to do.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:13 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
It's like you've never seen Meet the Feebles.
Honestly, I'm upset that science hasn't found a way for me to unsee that movie (don't get me wrong, I laughed my ass off, but oh god my brain).
posted by sparkletone at 9:14 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Honestly, I'm upset that science hasn't found a way for me to unsee that movie (don't get me wrong, I laughed my ass off, but oh god my brain).
posted by sparkletone at 9:14 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Sesame Street was created specifically to appeal to poor, inner-city youths. It sounds like Sesame Street is being gentrified along with the rest of the city neighborhoods.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:14 AM on August 13, 2015 [44 favorites]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:14 AM on August 13, 2015 [44 favorites]
Wait, is Peg + Cat a ripoff of Sarah & Duck or vice-versa?
posted by Rat Spatula at 9:20 AM on August 13, 2015
posted by Rat Spatula at 9:20 AM on August 13, 2015
On the other hand, it does free the writers to address adult themes
Like three-digit numbers.
posted by cosmic.osmo at 9:21 AM on August 13, 2015 [24 favorites]
Like three-digit numbers.
posted by cosmic.osmo at 9:21 AM on August 13, 2015 [24 favorites]
On the one hand this needs to be available to everyone and kids should be able to flip it on easily, on the other hand FUCK YEAH a Wire/Sesame Street mashup would be amazing! Omar teaches everyone how to whistle "Farmer in the Dell"! Elmo yelling "Omar comin!"
It should be "Elmo comin! Elmo comin, yo!". And then we could have Bunk teach everyone about how you gots to have a code, while Stringer Bird tries to develop some condos and get out of the street life.
posted by nubs at 9:24 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
It should be "Elmo comin! Elmo comin, yo!". And then we could have Bunk teach everyone about how you gots to have a code, while Stringer Bird tries to develop some condos and get out of the street life.
posted by nubs at 9:24 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
True Blood couldn't maintain a sexy vampires show for five seasons without going off the rails (hell that happened by season 2)... Sesame Street has been doing it for DECADES
posted by elr at 9:35 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by elr at 9:35 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
I wonder if every adult human begins to get the sense their childhood is being dismantled by profiteering fuckbarns.
posted by Mooski at 9:38 AM on August 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Mooski at 9:38 AM on August 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
True Blood couldn't maintain a sexy vampires show for five seasons without going off the rails (hell that happened by season 2)... Sesame Street has been doing it for DECADES
Look, whatever you are into is fine with me, but just because Sesame Street has the Count doesn't make it a sexy vampire show.
69! Ha! Ha! Ha!
posted by nubs at 9:39 AM on August 13, 2015 [10 favorites]
Look, whatever you are into is fine with me, but just because Sesame Street has the Count doesn't make it a sexy vampire show.
69! Ha! Ha! Ha!
posted by nubs at 9:39 AM on August 13, 2015 [10 favorites]
It's not all streamable rights - Sesame Street has their entire catalogue available via their own service, Sesame Street Go: https://www.sesamestreetgo.com/ $30 per year.
posted by GuyZero at 9:39 AM on August 13, 2015
posted by GuyZero at 9:39 AM on August 13, 2015
Sad that we can't get more of amazing clips like this.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:40 AM on August 13, 2015
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:40 AM on August 13, 2015
I'm upset that PBS is being gutted, but other than shortening the time of the show, this functionally doesn't change much for kids.
PBS/Children's Workshop effectively shortened the show themselves over a decade ago when they began devoting half the show to shows-within-a-show featuring Elmo and later Abbey. I suspect that those will be cut out and there will be twice as many "episodes" on PBS.
Sesame Street was created specifically to appeal to poor, inner-city youths. It sounds like Sesame Street is being gentrified along with the rest of the city neighborhoods.
I'd take that wager. I suspect that there would be more pressure on PBS to gentrify Sesame Street given that it's funded by donations. And conformity isn't exactly part of HBO's reputation.
posted by dances with hamsters at 9:41 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
PBS/Children's Workshop effectively shortened the show themselves over a decade ago when they began devoting half the show to shows-within-a-show featuring Elmo and later Abbey. I suspect that those will be cut out and there will be twice as many "episodes" on PBS.
Sesame Street was created specifically to appeal to poor, inner-city youths. It sounds like Sesame Street is being gentrified along with the rest of the city neighborhoods.
I'd take that wager. I suspect that there would be more pressure on PBS to gentrify Sesame Street given that it's funded by donations. And conformity isn't exactly part of HBO's reputation.
posted by dances with hamsters at 9:41 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
On the other hand, it does free the writers to address adult themes
Like three-digit numbers.
I'm holding out for primes, complex numbers, and transfinites.
Actually, this process of demoting public service broadcasting is what the Tories are trying to get through in the UK, although the BBC is a tougher nut to crack than PBS. I rather fear it's only going to go one way, as the whole set of circumstances that produced PSB in the first place have gone and the phenomenon of its degradation appears universal, but I do hope it'll be one hell of a fight.
posted by Devonian at 9:41 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Like three-digit numbers.
I'm holding out for primes, complex numbers, and transfinites.
Actually, this process of demoting public service broadcasting is what the Tories are trying to get through in the UK, although the BBC is a tougher nut to crack than PBS. I rather fear it's only going to go one way, as the whole set of circumstances that produced PSB in the first place have gone and the phenomenon of its degradation appears universal, but I do hope it'll be one hell of a fight.
posted by Devonian at 9:41 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm holding out for primes, complex numbers, and transfinites.
Don't go pushing your liberal numerical agenda on my kids.
posted by dances with hamsters at 9:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
Don't go pushing your liberal numerical agenda on my kids.
posted by dances with hamsters at 9:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
I wonder if every adult human begins to get the sense their childhood is being dismantled by profiteering fuckbarns.
Yes.
posted by adept256 at 9:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
Yes.
posted by adept256 at 9:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
Well, finally all those people who say 'I can't believe x children's movie/show/song/whatever didn't do this grim and dark thing to show children that life is AWFUL AND YOU WILL SUFFER in favour of this stupid happy thing' have something to watch. So that's nice.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 9:44 AM on August 13, 2015
posted by lesbiassparrow at 9:44 AM on August 13, 2015
Wait, is Peg + Cat a ripoff of Sarah & Duck or vice-versa?
Did you just call Peg + Cat a ripoff?
Oh, I am so going to have to count backwards from five to calm down now.
posted by stevis23 at 9:45 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Did you just call Peg + Cat a ripoff?
Oh, I am so going to have to count backwards from five to calm down now.
posted by stevis23 at 9:45 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Predictions:
Bert and Ernie get a canon relationship.
The Count's obsessive/compulsive disorder gets a Very Special Episode.
Mr. Hooper returns as an Ice Zombie.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 9:46 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
Bert and Ernie get a canon relationship.
The Count's obsessive/compulsive disorder gets a Very Special Episode.
Mr. Hooper returns as an Ice Zombie.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 9:46 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
Metafilter's own @darth: "a lighter, happier westeros this season on hbo"
posted by Nelson at 9:50 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 9:50 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
The upside of Sesame Street airing on HBO is that we’ll finally get to see the uncensored version of this classic.
posted by sparkletone at 9:50 AM on August 13, 2015
posted by sparkletone at 9:50 AM on August 13, 2015
Well, finally all those people who say 'I can't believe x children's movie/show/song/whatever didn't do this grim and dark thing to show children that life is AWFUL AND YOU WILL SUFFER in favour of this stupid happy thing' have something to watch. So that's nice.
snuffleopagus: depression
grouch: homelessness
bert and ernie: homosexuality
the count: obsessive compulsive disorder
cookie monster: eating disorder
et cetera
Elmo was the beginning of the end. I heard they have Cookie Monster eating fruit now.
posted by adept256 at 9:52 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
snuffleopagus: depression
grouch: homelessness
bert and ernie: homosexuality
the count: obsessive compulsive disorder
cookie monster: eating disorder
et cetera
Elmo was the beginning of the end. I heard they have Cookie Monster eating fruit now.
posted by adept256 at 9:52 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
SS used to have more than 100 new episodes (albeit with many sketches repeated) per season. Now they have something like 20.
And this is due to money. They didn't have the budget to do that many shows anymore because of cuts in funding, etc.
We are a Sesame Street House. The older kid loves the one hour shows and we enjoy the new shows. This actually makes me a little sad.
posted by Stynxno at 9:55 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
And this is due to money. They didn't have the budget to do that many shows anymore because of cuts in funding, etc.
We are a Sesame Street House. The older kid loves the one hour shows and we enjoy the new shows. This actually makes me a little sad.
posted by Stynxno at 9:55 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Now I'm really glad that I've never used the words "sell out" before. Because it gives it that much extra umph when I say it now.
Sell out.
posted by Gygesringtone at 10:14 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Sell out.
posted by Gygesringtone at 10:14 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
That sucks. They just made it so that poorer people can't get Sesame Street; only through broadcast TV, which is dying out.
posted by ignignokt at 10:15 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by ignignokt at 10:15 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
No, because HBO is not public.
If this is part of some masterplan to nationalize HBO, then I am all for it.
posted by Apocryphon at 10:28 AM on August 13, 2015
If this is part of some masterplan to nationalize HBO, then I am all for it.
posted by Apocryphon at 10:28 AM on August 13, 2015
ignignokt: That sucks. They just made it so that poorer people can't get Sesame Street; only through broadcast TV, which is dying out.
And on YouTube, where there is a lot more than there is on TV, given they have clips going back decades and decades officially posted online, and you can access YouTube from a myriad of devices at any given time.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:31 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
And on YouTube, where there is a lot more than there is on TV, given they have clips going back decades and decades officially posted online, and you can access YouTube from a myriad of devices at any given time.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:31 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
I understand there are always $$$ concerns, but I hope this doesn't make Sesame Street inaccessible to children whose parents do not have premium cable.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:32 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:32 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
Fraggle Rock was on HBO when I was a kindergartner. We didn't have cable when I was young, and so I've never seen a Fraggle Rock episode. I knew it existed, though: I knew the theme song, I knew what the Fraggles looked like, I knew they lived in caves and ate Doozer architecture, and I knew they were on the expensive TV channel. It always felt really unfair, though as a five-year-old I didn't know where to place the blame.
Kids want to have the same things as everyone else, and they can tell when they're not getting them. A lot of those perceived inequalities are tiny and inconsequential - say, store-brand cookies instead of Oreos - but they add up, and they can serve as little reminders of larger, more serious inequalities like crappy schools and decrepit playgrounds with broken equipment. It sucks that Sesame Street is going this way.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:33 AM on August 13, 2015 [33 favorites]
Kids want to have the same things as everyone else, and they can tell when they're not getting them. A lot of those perceived inequalities are tiny and inconsequential - say, store-brand cookies instead of Oreos - but they add up, and they can serve as little reminders of larger, more serious inequalities like crappy schools and decrepit playgrounds with broken equipment. It sucks that Sesame Street is going this way.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:33 AM on August 13, 2015 [33 favorites]
Finally we can have all the sex and swearing we really wanted!
posted by Theta States at 10:35 AM on August 13, 2015
posted by Theta States at 10:35 AM on August 13, 2015
And on YouTube, where there is a lot more than there is on TV, given they have clips going back decades and decades officially posted online, and you can access YouTube from a myriad of devices at any given time.
Well... we can. Kids whose parents don't have computers, smartphones, or internet access can't.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:36 AM on August 13, 2015 [20 favorites]
Well... we can. Kids whose parents don't have computers, smartphones, or internet access can't.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:36 AM on August 13, 2015 [20 favorites]
And on YouTube, where there is a lot more than there is on TV, given they have clips going back decades and decades officially posted online, and you can access YouTube from a myriad of devices at any given time.
Well... we can. Kids whose parents don't have computers, smartphones, or internet access can't.
Which is a quarter of American households (16-page PDF):
Well... we can. Kids whose parents don't have computers, smartphones, or internet access can't.
Which is a quarter of American households (16-page PDF):
In 2013, 74.4 percent of all households reported Internet use, with 73.4 percent reporting a highspeed connection (Table 1).posted by Etrigan at 10:42 AM on August 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
Metroid Baby nails it exactly.
posted by JHarris at 10:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 10:44 AM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
I think the YouTube archive really changes things. When you can watch really odd clips, like the old, long Milk clip from the 1970s (previously), and not just the modern shows, the cut-back of Sesame Street to a half hour on PBS doesn't sting quite as much.
And while not everyone has internet access, the demographics for US adults who don't use the internet indicates young families are fairly likely to have internet access:
% of U.S. adults who do not use the internet
18-29: 3%
30-49: 6%
50-64: 19%
65 + : 39%
This isn't the same as having access at home, and it seems that having access to TV is a given, so I agree that it would be great to have more programming like Sesame Street.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:50 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
And while not everyone has internet access, the demographics for US adults who don't use the internet indicates young families are fairly likely to have internet access:
% of U.S. adults who do not use the internet
18-29: 3%
30-49: 6%
50-64: 19%
65 + : 39%
This isn't the same as having access at home, and it seems that having access to TV is a given, so I agree that it would be great to have more programming like Sesame Street.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:50 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
You know what really stings about this? On a recent Ask Me Another, one of the guests was a former writer for Sesame Street, and one of the questions was about Oscar the Grouch's original color (orange). The guest said that for years and years, the characters never referred to the color of any other character, because kids with black and white TVs would feel bad if reminded that they weren't getting the "full" experience.
That is the kind of attitude that the Street needs more of these days.
posted by Etrigan at 10:56 AM on August 13, 2015 [31 favorites]
That is the kind of attitude that the Street needs more of these days.
posted by Etrigan at 10:56 AM on August 13, 2015 [31 favorites]
This has been the wet dream of Republicans for decades now. Every time one of their numerous attempts to defund public television are met with opposition, they always pull the "We're not trying to kill Big Bird" card, pointing to the huge potential profitability of Sesame Street as the thing that would inevitably save the beloved show from the onset of their long knives. Of course, the fact that the vast majority of PBS programming doesn't have colorful puppets and catchy songs and can't sustain itself by licensing images of Bill Moyers and Gwen Ifill to adorn T-shirts and mugs, is never fully addressed in their arguments, and that by design.
And anyone who thinks the Sesame Workshop will have the same level of creative and editorial freedom at HBO that they did at PBS is fooling themselves.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:00 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
And anyone who thinks the Sesame Workshop will have the same level of creative and editorial freedom at HBO that they did at PBS is fooling themselves.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:00 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
In 2013, 74.4 percent of all households reported Internet use, with 73.4 percent reporting a highspeed connection
There is simply no way 73.4% of households have a high speed connection. My assumption is that anything except dial-up was counted as high-speed which is absurd.
As to Sesame Street, I don't see any problem with HBO getting a limited-time head start on the episodes. What would they gain for their money if they didn't?
Plus all the muppet sexposition.
posted by Justinian at 11:00 AM on August 13, 2015
There is simply no way 73.4% of households have a high speed connection. My assumption is that anything except dial-up was counted as high-speed which is absurd.
As to Sesame Street, I don't see any problem with HBO getting a limited-time head start on the episodes. What would they gain for their money if they didn't?
Plus all the muppet sexposition.
posted by Justinian at 11:00 AM on August 13, 2015
It should be "Elmo comin! Elmo comin, yo!". And then we could have Bunk teach everyone about how you gots to have a code, while Stringer Bird tries to develop some condos and get out of the street life.
Okay okay one more. "You follow the cookies, you get cookie chefs and Cookie Monsters. But you start to follow the money, and you don't know where the fuck it's gonna take you."
posted by officer_fred at 11:00 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Okay okay one more. "You follow the cookies, you get cookie chefs and Cookie Monsters. But you start to follow the money, and you don't know where the fuck it's gonna take you."
posted by officer_fred at 11:00 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
I saw lots of Fraggle Rock. My family could never afford cable and had trouble affording groceries until I was in later elementary school at least. We had a VHS tape--just one at any given time, though it had to be replaced periodically--that migrated back and forth between our house and the house of a relative without kids who could afford cable, which returned to our house filled with episodes of Fraggle Rock. So, in a way, yes, things do find a way. But you know what? When was the last time you saw anybody with a VCR? When was the last time you saw a TV show and had any idea how to record that show to share with a family member? As a kid, in my low-income social groups, we all had shelves full of VHS tapes with hand-written labels. Now, how can you possibly look at any of the solutions being presented and think that they'd really be available to the illiterate parent of several young kids who is trying to make ends meet on minimum wage?
Those are the kids who I actually care about having access to Sesame Street. Things are better than ever now for people who are moderately low income but still very tech savvy, like me. But they're worse than ever for low-income kids with parents who have low levels of education, and they're the ones who need this the most. That anyone who knows anything about what Sesame Street was supposed to stand for could agree to this makes me feel actually ill.
posted by Sequence at 11:01 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
Those are the kids who I actually care about having access to Sesame Street. Things are better than ever now for people who are moderately low income but still very tech savvy, like me. But they're worse than ever for low-income kids with parents who have low levels of education, and they're the ones who need this the most. That anyone who knows anything about what Sesame Street was supposed to stand for could agree to this makes me feel actually ill.
posted by Sequence at 11:01 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
But it's still airing on PBS, Sequence? What's the issue?
posted by Justinian at 11:03 AM on August 13, 2015
posted by Justinian at 11:03 AM on August 13, 2015
Yes.
Oh no...are there adults on this forum who associate Minecraft with their childhood??
posted by deathmaven at 11:05 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Oh no...are there adults on this forum who associate Minecraft with their childhood??
posted by deathmaven at 11:05 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Gettin' tired of this shitty future
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 11:08 AM on August 13, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 11:08 AM on August 13, 2015 [11 favorites]
True Detective: Sesame Street [spoiler alert]: It turns out the cookie was the monster all along.
posted by srboisvert at 11:10 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 11:10 AM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm holding out for primes, complex numbers, and transfinites.
Square One, from the producers of Sesame Street, definitely covered primes, and likely complex numbers.
posted by grouse at 11:12 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
Square One, from the producers of Sesame Street, definitely covered primes, and likely complex numbers.
posted by grouse at 11:12 AM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
broadcast TV, which is dying out
Huh? From my perspective, broadcast TV is better than it's ever been. Same cheapo rabbit ears as always, new TVs with appropriate tuners get cheaper every year, and the proliferation of stations with the move to digital broadcasting has been interesting to see.
I use AntennaWeb to figure out where to point my antenna. Though I admit I still have to give Comcast money for cable internet. Meh.
posted by asperity at 11:13 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Huh? From my perspective, broadcast TV is better than it's ever been. Same cheapo rabbit ears as always, new TVs with appropriate tuners get cheaper every year, and the proliferation of stations with the move to digital broadcasting has been interesting to see.
I use AntennaWeb to figure out where to point my antenna. Though I admit I still have to give Comcast money for cable internet. Meh.
posted by asperity at 11:13 AM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
For everyone rightfully aghast at defunding of PBS and the privatization of everything, here is PBS's general purpose donations page, lots of options both nationally and for one's local affiliate, and here is the page that geolocates your local affiliate directly.
Oh no...are there adults on this forum who associate Minecraft with their childhood??
It came out in 2009, so either way that would have to be a pretty strange definition of either "adults" or "childhood" or both.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 11:14 AM on August 13, 2015
Oh no...are there adults on this forum who associate Minecraft with their childhood??
It came out in 2009, so either way that would have to be a pretty strange definition of either "adults" or "childhood" or both.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 11:14 AM on August 13, 2015
But it's still airing on PBS, Sequence? What's the issue?
You seriously think that rich kids getting priority access to this is not a sign that poor kids are getting de-prioritized? Gosh, you get perfectly good clothes at Goodwill, what's the issue? Jesus Christ. Underprivileged kids should be the ones getting this first, getting it better, and fuck the kids of people who can afford HBO. Go put them in Baby's First Mandarin Class instead, I don't care. It is not magically okay to take stuff out of public access and into the hands of the wealthy if you let the poor have a substandard version later. There was a period when this was happening when poor people could even the score, but we aren't at that point yet with computers and we've passed the point where it's true of television.
posted by Sequence at 11:17 AM on August 13, 2015 [32 favorites]
You seriously think that rich kids getting priority access to this is not a sign that poor kids are getting de-prioritized? Gosh, you get perfectly good clothes at Goodwill, what's the issue? Jesus Christ. Underprivileged kids should be the ones getting this first, getting it better, and fuck the kids of people who can afford HBO. Go put them in Baby's First Mandarin Class instead, I don't care. It is not magically okay to take stuff out of public access and into the hands of the wealthy if you let the poor have a substandard version later. There was a period when this was happening when poor people could even the score, but we aren't at that point yet with computers and we've passed the point where it's true of television.
posted by Sequence at 11:17 AM on August 13, 2015 [32 favorites]
My assumption is that anything except dial-up was counted as high-speed
That is indeed what the linked article says. "High-speed Internet use indicates that a household has an Internet service type other than dial-up alone. This includes DSL, cable modem, fiber-optic, mobile broadband, and satellite Internet services."
which is absurd.
Not really, no. Certainly not for purposes of the report in question. But you can find information on transfer speeds elsewhere.
posted by Shmuel510 at 11:20 AM on August 13, 2015
That is indeed what the linked article says. "High-speed Internet use indicates that a household has an Internet service type other than dial-up alone. This includes DSL, cable modem, fiber-optic, mobile broadband, and satellite Internet services."
which is absurd.
Not really, no. Certainly not for purposes of the report in question. But you can find information on transfer speeds elsewhere.
posted by Shmuel510 at 11:20 AM on August 13, 2015
When was the last time you saw a TV show and had any idea how to record that show to share with a family member?
This is easier than ever! Most set top boxes have USB input and can play a variety of formats and do timeshifting and recording. My television does this natively, and it's not a name brand. 32gb USB drives are quite affordable and can store quite alot of HDTV. As for the user interface, you'll soon lose any nostalgia for your VCR.
How much can you fit on 32gb? Magic school bus internet isn't helping.
posted by adept256 at 11:23 AM on August 13, 2015
This is easier than ever! Most set top boxes have USB input and can play a variety of formats and do timeshifting and recording. My television does this natively, and it's not a name brand. 32gb USB drives are quite affordable and can store quite alot of HDTV. As for the user interface, you'll soon lose any nostalgia for your VCR.
How much can you fit on 32gb? Magic school bus internet isn't helping.
posted by adept256 at 11:23 AM on August 13, 2015
Underprivileged kids should be the ones getting this first, getting it better, and fuck the kids of people who can afford HBO.
I'm not sure I believe that watching TV, even good TV, is necessary to get on in life; nevertheless, to this sentiment I say "Hear Hear!"
posted by JanetLand at 11:51 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure I believe that watching TV, even good TV, is necessary to get on in life; nevertheless, to this sentiment I say "Hear Hear!"
posted by JanetLand at 11:51 AM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Okay okay one more.
Bunk and McNulty enter an empty apartment. They start to look around and discover the letters F, U, C, and K. They turn to the screen and ask the viewer to help them find more. Kids at home point, shout, and get their mouths washed out with soap.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:00 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Bunk and McNulty enter an empty apartment. They start to look around and discover the letters F, U, C, and K. They turn to the screen and ask the viewer to help them find more. Kids at home point, shout, and get their mouths washed out with soap.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:00 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure I believe that watching TV, even good TV, is necessary to get on in life
For better or worse, television is a huge part of our culture. I watch little TV anymore, and have I've discovered it many times: not being up on current shows means you can't participate in many casual conversations. And a lot of socializing, of networking, means participating in those conversations. It's just another one of those little conforming things that our world is full of.
posted by JHarris at 12:21 PM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
For better or worse, television is a huge part of our culture. I watch little TV anymore, and have I've discovered it many times: not being up on current shows means you can't participate in many casual conversations. And a lot of socializing, of networking, means participating in those conversations. It's just another one of those little conforming things that our world is full of.
posted by JHarris at 12:21 PM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
I'm not sure I believe that watching TV, even good TV, is necessary to get on in life
But 'It's not TV, it's HBO'.
Yep, the next "Defund PBS" campaign should have a much higher chance of success.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:29 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
But 'It's not TV, it's HBO'.
Yep, the next "Defund PBS" campaign should have a much higher chance of success.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:29 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
TV isn't necessary to get on in life. But neither is literature, art, music, good cuisine, film, or anything else not directly involved in eating and breathing! Looking down on TV is so 1998.
I have been much more ruthless in culling the shows I DVR over the last year or two, though. Ain't nobody got time for mediocrity.
posted by Justinian at 1:06 PM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
I have been much more ruthless in culling the shows I DVR over the last year or two, though. Ain't nobody got time for mediocrity.
posted by Justinian at 1:06 PM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yeah, Sesame Street was created with the explicit intention of being targeted to low-income children in order to close the pre-K educational gap with more affluent kids. Seeing it move to HBO and literally be given to those affluent kids first is pretty rough symbolism.
I wrote my college thesis on the parallel origins of Sesame Street and public television - the idea was that the creators of Sesame Street drew on the same set of institutions & funding resources as the folks trying to create a public television system in the US, but the development processes were unrelated for quite a while, and the public television movement only gained full traction when it became associated with this product that was for kids & therefore had a broader political appeal than the adult "educational television" fare. PBS has been politically dependent on its association with CTW/Sesame Street since the very beginning.
posted by yarrow at 2:17 PM on August 13, 2015 [21 favorites]
I wrote my college thesis on the parallel origins of Sesame Street and public television - the idea was that the creators of Sesame Street drew on the same set of institutions & funding resources as the folks trying to create a public television system in the US, but the development processes were unrelated for quite a while, and the public television movement only gained full traction when it became associated with this product that was for kids & therefore had a broader political appeal than the adult "educational television" fare. PBS has been politically dependent on its association with CTW/Sesame Street since the very beginning.
posted by yarrow at 2:17 PM on August 13, 2015 [21 favorites]
Being familiar with a popular TV show as a kid isn't like being familiar with a popular TV show as an adult, where it's a hobby and you might converse with some people about it, as you will. It's more like the set of skills you'd need to network as a professional, say: being familiar with upper-middle class mores, knowing how people in those groups talk and what to order at a fancy restaurant. Familiarity with popular media sites can function like Bourdieu's capital for children. It's definitely possible to raise kids happily without access to TV, but for kids who are already feeling cut off in various ways from the culture they live in (i.e., from lower-income backgrounds), this connection can be vitally important. It gives them more social fluidity, more common ground with other kids, more ability to plug into the culture and feel like they can consciously affect it. And this goes doubly true for an educational program like Sesame Street that was designed to give kids a few resources they might not otherwise have. This makes me very sad.
posted by thetortoise at 2:43 PM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 2:43 PM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
Admit it, haven't you always wanted to hear a muppet say "cocksucker?"
It's like you've never seen Meet the Feebles.
It's like neither of you've ever seen Let My Puppets Come, wherein the act that phrase refers to actually happens between two muppets.
posted by wyndham at 3:12 PM on August 13, 2015
It's like you've never seen Meet the Feebles.
It's like neither of you've ever seen Let My Puppets Come, wherein the act that phrase refers to actually happens between two muppets.
posted by wyndham at 3:12 PM on August 13, 2015
This seems like such an abdication of Sesame Street's founding principle to provide educational programming to low-income and working class children.
posted by JHarris at 3:29 PM on August 13, 2015
posted by JHarris at 3:29 PM on August 13, 2015
Per the NY Times article:
"Historically, less than 10 percent of the funding for “Sesame Street” episodes came from PBS, with the rest financed through licensing revenue, such as DVD sales. Sesame’s business has struggled in recent years because of the rapid rise of streaming and on-demand viewing and the sharp decline in licensing income. About two-thirds of children now watch “Sesame Street” on demand and do not tune in to PBS to watch the show."
While I agree that this is not a change that is a net positive for the kids in the greatest need of literacy support, I have worked with CTW and the comments I have heard directly mirror this paragraph.
DVD sales for a long time made up a huge part of CTW's revenue. And it's gone. In the last few years DVD sales have simply evaporated.
They built out their own site & apps, Sesame Street Go, which charge consumers directly to try to replace the DVD revenue stream. But I don't think it's enough. They need to make a deal with a distributor and these days that means HBO, Netflix, Hulu or some lower-tier service. And it seems like HBO was most willing to pay.
Coincidentally, HBO Now is now competing directly head-to-head with Netflix which has a sizeable selection of on-demand kid's content. So this is probably pretty strategic for HBO as well.
PBS is basically caught in the crossfire here and it's good to know they'll continue to have Sesame Street to broadcast. I don't think the average viewer of Sesame Street is worried about seeing the episodes before their kindergarten classmates or reading Elmo spoilers online.
But seriously, the alternative to this deal is probably bankruptcy for CTW pretty soon. This is the new media landscape.
posted by GuyZero at 3:32 PM on August 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
"Historically, less than 10 percent of the funding for “Sesame Street” episodes came from PBS, with the rest financed through licensing revenue, such as DVD sales. Sesame’s business has struggled in recent years because of the rapid rise of streaming and on-demand viewing and the sharp decline in licensing income. About two-thirds of children now watch “Sesame Street” on demand and do not tune in to PBS to watch the show."
While I agree that this is not a change that is a net positive for the kids in the greatest need of literacy support, I have worked with CTW and the comments I have heard directly mirror this paragraph.
DVD sales for a long time made up a huge part of CTW's revenue. And it's gone. In the last few years DVD sales have simply evaporated.
They built out their own site & apps, Sesame Street Go, which charge consumers directly to try to replace the DVD revenue stream. But I don't think it's enough. They need to make a deal with a distributor and these days that means HBO, Netflix, Hulu or some lower-tier service. And it seems like HBO was most willing to pay.
Coincidentally, HBO Now is now competing directly head-to-head with Netflix which has a sizeable selection of on-demand kid's content. So this is probably pretty strategic for HBO as well.
PBS is basically caught in the crossfire here and it's good to know they'll continue to have Sesame Street to broadcast. I don't think the average viewer of Sesame Street is worried about seeing the episodes before their kindergarten classmates or reading Elmo spoilers online.
But seriously, the alternative to this deal is probably bankruptcy for CTW pretty soon. This is the new media landscape.
posted by GuyZero at 3:32 PM on August 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
True Blood couldn't maintain a sexy vampires show for five seasons without going off the rails (hell that happened by season 2)
You know I actually re-watched some of season 1 and True Blood was always pretty bad, frankly. It was fun garbage that got less fun as Bill's face got all puffy.
posted by Hoopo at 3:53 PM on August 13, 2015
You know I actually re-watched some of season 1 and True Blood was always pretty bad, frankly. It was fun garbage that got less fun as Bill's face got all puffy.
posted by Hoopo at 3:53 PM on August 13, 2015
:(
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:55 PM on August 13, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:55 PM on August 13, 2015 [8 favorites]
Re: Why you might need need for TV for kids:
https://twitter.com/Blackamazon/status/631851339425968128
https://twitter.com/Blackamazon/status/631851339425968128
Look I grew up in my formative 0-3 with a mom who bless her was working and an immigrant and single parenting.posted by ignignokt at 4:00 PM on August 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
The ability for her to plop my self in front of a screen and get decent programming was VITAL
About two-thirds of children now watch “Sesame Street” on demand and do not tune in to PBS to watch the show.
Figures like this can be misleading. "Watching Sesame Street" on demand can mean reruns which carry tiny redistribution costs compared to making new episodes.
Sesame’s business has struggled in recent years because of the rapid rise of streaming and on-demand viewing and the sharp decline in licensing income.
Sesame Workshop is not a traditional business, but a non-profit. They don't have to come out far ahead.
This is the new media landscape.
People sometimes declare this as if it somehow implied moral rightness. It is mere fact, and that doesn't mean we have to like it, or think that it shouldn't be fought against with greater fervor. Like, if PBS were funded better, Sesame Workshop wouldn't have to resort to first and expanded broadcast on HBO. Congress, always looking to make points by cutting spending no matter the cost/benefit ratio, is the author of our woes here. Public broadcasting is a favorite whipping boy of theirs.
:(
posted by snuffleupagus
This is particularly sad.
posted by JHarris at 4:01 PM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
Figures like this can be misleading. "Watching Sesame Street" on demand can mean reruns which carry tiny redistribution costs compared to making new episodes.
Sesame’s business has struggled in recent years because of the rapid rise of streaming and on-demand viewing and the sharp decline in licensing income.
Sesame Workshop is not a traditional business, but a non-profit. They don't have to come out far ahead.
This is the new media landscape.
People sometimes declare this as if it somehow implied moral rightness. It is mere fact, and that doesn't mean we have to like it, or think that it shouldn't be fought against with greater fervor. Like, if PBS were funded better, Sesame Workshop wouldn't have to resort to first and expanded broadcast on HBO. Congress, always looking to make points by cutting spending no matter the cost/benefit ratio, is the author of our woes here. Public broadcasting is a favorite whipping boy of theirs.
:(
posted by snuffleupagus
This is particularly sad.
posted by JHarris at 4:01 PM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
"Watching Sesame Street" on demand can mean reruns which carry tiny redistribution costs compared to making new episodes.
This is true regardless of whether the reruns are on PBS or Amazon or whereever.
Sesame Workshop is not a traditional business, but a non-profit. They don't have to come out far ahead.
10% of revenue comes from PBS, let's say half their licensing revenue went away... a 45% revenue loss is a big deal regardless of whether you're for-profit or not. If anything it's worse as CTW as a non-profit doesn't retain earnings to offset future losses nor can it easily take out loans to bridge transitions between revenue streams. (well, maybe it could, but that would be a bad idea)
It is mere fact, and that doesn't mean we have to like it, or think that it shouldn't be fought against with greater fervor. Like, if PBS were funded better, Sesame Workshop wouldn't have to resort to first and expanded broadcast on HBO.
You are right, it is a mere fact, but I think people need to understand why this is happening. Even if PBS was better funded it's likely CTW would pursue a deal like this because money is money and they'd use it to create more content.
It would be great if PBS was able to shoulder more of Sesame Street's costs themselves but for CTW to go belly-up is far worse.
posted by GuyZero at 4:54 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
This is true regardless of whether the reruns are on PBS or Amazon or whereever.
Sesame Workshop is not a traditional business, but a non-profit. They don't have to come out far ahead.
10% of revenue comes from PBS, let's say half their licensing revenue went away... a 45% revenue loss is a big deal regardless of whether you're for-profit or not. If anything it's worse as CTW as a non-profit doesn't retain earnings to offset future losses nor can it easily take out loans to bridge transitions between revenue streams. (well, maybe it could, but that would be a bad idea)
It is mere fact, and that doesn't mean we have to like it, or think that it shouldn't be fought against with greater fervor. Like, if PBS were funded better, Sesame Workshop wouldn't have to resort to first and expanded broadcast on HBO.
You are right, it is a mere fact, but I think people need to understand why this is happening. Even if PBS was better funded it's likely CTW would pursue a deal like this because money is money and they'd use it to create more content.
It would be great if PBS was able to shoulder more of Sesame Street's costs themselves but for CTW to go belly-up is far worse.
posted by GuyZero at 4:54 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Bert: I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware. Nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist by natural law. We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, this accretion of sensory experience and feelings, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody's nobody.
Ernie: Well gee Bert.
posted by dephlogisticated at 4:56 PM on August 13, 2015 [9 favorites]
Ernie: Well gee Bert.
posted by dephlogisticated at 4:56 PM on August 13, 2015 [9 favorites]
"The letter O is a flat circle."
posted by blueberry at 5:12 PM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by blueberry at 5:12 PM on August 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Are they going to HBO because the first half hour now involves Warm, Velvety Muppet Sex?
posted by SquidLips at 5:21 PM on August 13, 2015
posted by SquidLips at 5:21 PM on August 13, 2015
At last Ernie and Bert can come out.
posted by bendy at 5:31 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bendy at 5:31 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I find this so sad, and telling. As is the reaction.
Maria retires and everything goes to shit!
posted by sallybrown at 7:28 PM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
Maria retires and everything goes to shit!
posted by sallybrown at 7:28 PM on August 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
Did you just call Peg + Cat a ripoff?
Urmmm... C'mon, Duck! Let's try a different thread! Quack!
posted by Rat Spatula at 9:29 PM on August 13, 2015
Urmmm... C'mon, Duck! Let's try a different thread! Quack!
posted by Rat Spatula at 9:29 PM on August 13, 2015
This is not fair. Kids understand this. Sesame Street used to.
posted by chortly at 9:59 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by chortly at 9:59 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
[Another great thing about that second skit: besides bringing tears to my eyes as a metaphor for what HBO and capitalism are doing to Sesame Street and what it once stood for, another classic Sesame Street detail is how Bert at the beginning is humming the La La La song, which is basically Dies Irae.]
posted by chortly at 10:03 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by chortly at 10:03 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
"Not to mention Kermit the damn frog!!!"
(Jimmy James rant on advertising from NewsRadio)
posted by oakroom at 5:40 AM on August 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
(Jimmy James rant on advertising from NewsRadio)
posted by oakroom at 5:40 AM on August 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm assuming that Lefty the Letter-salesman is behind this sale. "Would you like to buy a show, it's really going to grow...Shh... right...."
posted by drezdn at 8:38 AM on August 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by drezdn at 8:38 AM on August 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
At last Ernie and Bert can come out.
It will not go well.
posted by sonascope at 8:43 AM on August 14, 2015
It will not go well.
posted by sonascope at 8:43 AM on August 14, 2015
As much as I'd like to see True Detective Season 3, Game of Thrones Season 6, or a reboot of The Wire, this is a strategic move to increase the number of HBOGo subscriptions. Full Stop. I mean, it's just one more reason for parents to justify cutting the cord and paying their hard earned monies to someone else.
It's a brilliant move, albeit still somewhat cutthroat of the Children's Workshop to get in bed with such a for-profit entity. So who knows... Maybe they've always had this sort of thing in mind.
posted by Blue_Villain at 2:01 PM on August 14, 2015
It's a brilliant move, albeit still somewhat cutthroat of the Children's Workshop to get in bed with such a for-profit entity. So who knows... Maybe they've always had this sort of thing in mind.
posted by Blue_Villain at 2:01 PM on August 14, 2015
The bulk of the hand-wringing on this seems to come from a faulty comparison. Yes, Sesame Street airing new content first on HBO then nine months later on public tv is worse than new content regularly appearing for free on public television. But that wasn't really what the choice was. The choice was: Sesame Street, as a franchise and an institution, continuing to dwindle and perhaps even die from lack of funding on public television; or Sesame Street reclaiming a bunch of the budget and chance to create mew material it had nearly given up on with HBO sponsorship, with a lag time on the new stuff that kids under five won't notice or give a shit about anyway.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:17 AM on August 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:17 AM on August 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
I mean, it's not like there are current events news segments or live sporting matches on Sesame Street that kids on public tv will lose out by not being able to see in a timely fashion. It's been mostly recycled stuff for years. Better they up the amount of new content being tossed into that mix, even if it's on a delay, than to peter out and vanish for good.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:19 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:19 AM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
The choice was: Sesame Street, as a franchise and an institution, continuing to dwindle and perhaps even die from lack of funding on public television; or Sesame Street reclaiming a bunch of the budget and chance to create mew material it had nearly given up on with HBO sponsorship...
Third choice: Get mad about this and press for more funding of public television.
...with a lag time on the new stuff that kids under five won't notice or give a shit about anyway.
It's still a two-tier system that deprioritizes the people that Sesame Street was invented to help, even if they can't tell.
Also, there will be 60 minutes of new stuff on HBO and 30 on PBS.
posted by Etrigan at 11:07 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Third choice: Get mad about this and press for more funding of public television.
...with a lag time on the new stuff that kids under five won't notice or give a shit about anyway.
It's still a two-tier system that deprioritizes the people that Sesame Street was invented to help, even if they can't tell.
Also, there will be 60 minutes of new stuff on HBO and 30 on PBS.
posted by Etrigan at 11:07 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
More funding for public television would be the ideal solution, yes. It was such a preferred outcome that Children's Television Workshop made cutback after cutback for years, even operating at a loss hoping they could find a way to make that happen. Considering that it never did, I think they made the best of their remaining options.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:35 PM on August 15, 2015
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:35 PM on August 15, 2015
There is a difference between stating a preferred outcome and enumerating actual viable options.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:49 PM on August 15, 2015
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:49 PM on August 15, 2015
Actual viable option: Not slicing off literally half of the product before tossing it to the poors nine months later.
Other actual viable option: Throwing this back in the face of every asshole Congressperson who has voted for cutting back funding for public broadcasting while insisting that Big Bird wouldn't suffer because the franchise made so much money that the show didn't need to turn a profit.
posted by Etrigan at 12:57 PM on August 15, 2015
Other actual viable option: Throwing this back in the face of every asshole Congressperson who has voted for cutting back funding for public broadcasting while insisting that Big Bird wouldn't suffer because the franchise made so much money that the show didn't need to turn a profit.
posted by Etrigan at 12:57 PM on August 15, 2015
My understanding is that the 30 minute run time on PBS wasn't at all a case of giving "the poors" (among whom I guess my family numbers) half the product, but was a latter of making the show a length PBS currently prefers for kids shows. If I'm wrong, then yeah, that sucks. But I believe it was just a matter of changing models for kids' shows on public TV.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:05 PM on August 15, 2015
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:05 PM on August 15, 2015
the show’s parent non-profit, Sesame Workshop, piloted a half-hour version of its show last fall, which ran in the afternoon after the usual hour-long morning program. The success of the shorter program on TV tracked with growth on its digital platforms–the PBS Kids website, mobile app and Roku channel. Average monthly views rose 40% after the switch.Yup. PBS's choice. It's a ratings thing for them. They just get more viewers with shorter kids shows. There's still plenty of complaining that is fair to do about this, but more on the topic of kids-these-days/attention-spans-ain't-what-they-used-to-be than damn-the-man-save-Sesame-Street.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:13 PM on August 15, 2015
the show’s parent non-profit, Sesame Workshop, piloted a half-hour version of its show last fall, which ran in the afternoon after the usual hour-long morning program. The success of the shorter program on TV tracked with growth on its digital platforms–the PBS Kids website, mobile app and Roku channel. Average monthly views rose 40% after the switch.
Yup. PBS's choice.
You missed the part of your blockquote where they ran both hour- and half-hour-long versions.
posted by Etrigan at 1:27 PM on August 15, 2015
Yup. PBS's choice.
You missed the part of your blockquote where they ran both hour- and half-hour-long versions.
posted by Etrigan at 1:27 PM on August 15, 2015
I think you're missing it. The shorter version got 40% more viewers. PBS prefers more viewers. Hence, the seichbin running time, which was a decision arrived at independently from the HBO deal. Also, you do understand that PBS's 30 minute run time doesn't mean their viewers will get half as much content, right? It means they're going to get the same content over twice the number of episodes, just with shorter run times.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:45 PM on August 15, 2015
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:45 PM on August 15, 2015
That was suppose to say "change in" not "seichbin." Fucking thumb typing. Fucking phone.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:05 PM on August 15, 2015
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:05 PM on August 15, 2015
Coming at this from the perspective of a parent with a young kid and no cable, this all tracks just fine with me. Previously, kids without cable (like mine) could watch a Sesame Street that was largely recycled old stuff and was losing ratings and income and in danger of dwindling even further or disappearing. Now, kids without cable (again, like mine) will get a largely new show that runs shorter but with fewer reruns. And for this, the only downside is waiting about as long for new episodes as I wait for say, Justified to show up on Amazon Prime. I'm not feeling the grar here at all.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:12 PM on August 15, 2015
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:12 PM on August 15, 2015
I think you're missing it. The shorter version got 40% more viewers. PBS prefers more viewers. Hence, the seichbin running time, which was a decision arrived at independently from the HBO deal.
I read that last sentence as total average views rising 40%, which, given that they were running 50% more Sesame Street, probably shouldn't be held up as attracting too many more viewers.
Previously, kids without cable (like mine) could watch a Sesame Street that was largely recycled old stuff and was losing ratings and income and in danger of dwindling even further or disappearing. Now, kids without cable (again, like mine) will get a largely new show that runs shorter but with fewer reruns. And for this, the only downside is waiting about as long for new episodes as I wait for say, Justified to show up on Amazon Prime.
I'm against this for the same reason I feel a little unease about Warren Buffett's charity foundation paying for birth control -- we shouldn't be thankful that people with more money are deigning to uplift us with their charity when it has been previously shown that government can achieve the same thing. PBS used to work just fine in getting educational television in front of the kids (and parents) who needed it, but we fucked it up by letting our representatives chip away at it because it wasn't profitable.
So what happens when HBO decides Sesame Street isn't profitable any more?
posted by Etrigan at 2:29 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
the show’s parent non-profit, Sesame Workshop, piloted a half-hour version of its show last fall, which ran in the afternoon after the usual hour-long morning program. The success of the shorter program on TV tracked with growth on its digital platforms–the PBS Kids website, mobile app and Roku channel. Average monthly views rose 40% after the switch.(emphasis added)
I read that last sentence as total average views rising 40%, which, given that they were running 50% more Sesame Street, probably shouldn't be held up as attracting too many more viewers.
Previously, kids without cable (like mine) could watch a Sesame Street that was largely recycled old stuff and was losing ratings and income and in danger of dwindling even further or disappearing. Now, kids without cable (again, like mine) will get a largely new show that runs shorter but with fewer reruns. And for this, the only downside is waiting about as long for new episodes as I wait for say, Justified to show up on Amazon Prime.
I'm against this for the same reason I feel a little unease about Warren Buffett's charity foundation paying for birth control -- we shouldn't be thankful that people with more money are deigning to uplift us with their charity when it has been previously shown that government can achieve the same thing. PBS used to work just fine in getting educational television in front of the kids (and parents) who needed it, but we fucked it up by letting our representatives chip away at it because it wasn't profitable.
So what happens when HBO decides Sesame Street isn't profitable any more?
posted by Etrigan at 2:29 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I believe what they were saying Etrigan was that the ran the regular hour long one in the morning and the shorter 30 minute one in the afternoon and the shorter one got better ratings.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:33 PM on August 15, 2015
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:33 PM on August 15, 2015
Average monthly views rose 40% after the switch.
The average monthly views couldn't have risen for a new program.
posted by Etrigan at 4:45 PM on August 15, 2015
The average monthly views couldn't have risen for a new program.
posted by Etrigan at 4:45 PM on August 15, 2015
Sesame Street aired twice a day at one hour long. Always has. Then, on a pilot basis, they replaced the afternoon show with a half hour version. Views went up.
In any case, this is all immaterial to the discussion as a) the program duration change is unrelated to the HBO deal and b) public television viewers will be getting the same amount of content even after the switch to half hour episodes, because the plan is to air twice as many new episodes. So this is a derail in any case.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:56 PM on August 15, 2015
In any case, this is all immaterial to the discussion as a) the program duration change is unrelated to the HBO deal and b) public television viewers will be getting the same amount of content even after the switch to half hour episodes, because the plan is to air twice as many new episodes. So this is a derail in any case.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 4:56 PM on August 15, 2015
I did some more reading. It's actually sort of complicated I guess. I grew up in a town that showed Sesame Street twice a day, but apparently that hasn't been the case in a while in most places.
So the new afternoon (30 minute) version was new. Weirdly, the "more successful" 30 minute show had slightly lower ratings than the hour long one. But then, the hour long show had the benefit of running in the morning, when ratings are higher in general. Relative to its time slot and lead-in, the shorter version did better. The 40% number is complicated, too. Apparently, two-thirds of Sesame Street viewers watch it online or on-demand. However, PBS noticed strong trends that half hour shows did better in that format. And, right in line with that, the shorter Sesame Street was wildly popular online and on-demand, helping the total views for the show go up by 40%.
In any case, the play-by-play of how the 30 minute version came to be all sorted, I hope, I trust that we can put the misreading that the 30 minute time is HBO cutting the content non-pay TV viewers get in half to bed. Again: PBS did this, because kids today like shorter shows. And, as the second link specifically says, "As part of the move, the number of episodes per season will double (to 35, up from 18)." So the same amount of stuff as the HBO viewers get is still headed out for free via PBS Kids.
I have made too many comments in one thread and will shut up now.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:09 PM on August 15, 2015
So the new afternoon (30 minute) version was new. Weirdly, the "more successful" 30 minute show had slightly lower ratings than the hour long one. But then, the hour long show had the benefit of running in the morning, when ratings are higher in general. Relative to its time slot and lead-in, the shorter version did better. The 40% number is complicated, too. Apparently, two-thirds of Sesame Street viewers watch it online or on-demand. However, PBS noticed strong trends that half hour shows did better in that format. And, right in line with that, the shorter Sesame Street was wildly popular online and on-demand, helping the total views for the show go up by 40%.
In any case, the play-by-play of how the 30 minute version came to be all sorted, I hope, I trust that we can put the misreading that the 30 minute time is HBO cutting the content non-pay TV viewers get in half to bed. Again: PBS did this, because kids today like shorter shows. And, as the second link specifically says, "As part of the move, the number of episodes per season will double (to 35, up from 18)." So the same amount of stuff as the HBO viewers get is still headed out for free via PBS Kids.
I have made too many comments in one thread and will shut up now.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:09 PM on August 15, 2015
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posted by Etrigan at 8:34 AM on August 13, 2015 [40 favorites]