Good news for parents who want easier access to Sesame Street for children. Starting in January, hundreds of classic full episodes will stream on YouTube, according to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the show.
“For Sesame Street fans, this partnership is a natural fit—over half of the official channel’s YouTube watch time already comes from connected TV screens,” said Sesame Street.
The show’s popularity is immense, as is YouTube’s. In fact, 58.3 per cent of kids in the US watch YouTube videos, and families have already been streaming Sesame Street content there, with the channel drawing more than five billion views in the past year.
YouTube hosts a range of popular content aimed at kids, including channels like Cocomelon (which gets a theatrical film in 2027) and Ms. Rachel.
Meanwhile, new episodes of Sesame Street will premiere on Netflix starting November 10. Season 56 will feature “fresh format changes” with a focus on “one 11-minute story” per episode.
With distribution deals with Netflix and YouTube, Sesame Street is in a much stronger position than before.
As a recipient of government funding, cuts to public media by the Donald Trump administration in the US would have affected Sesame Street. But the new partnerships ensure there are multiple ways to watch the show for free. In fact, the deals may even help it reach new audiences.