Can you tell us how to get to Sesame Street? Iconic show's search for new home sparks concern for kids' TV

To quote its theme song, can you tell us how to get to Sesame Street?

Sesame Street, the iconic children's television show that hits generations of adults right in the nostalgia, is looking for a new distribution partner, placing a giant question mark over whether there will be new episodes after this year.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced last month it would not renew the show's contract with HBO and its streaming partner, Max. The show first aired on what would become PBS in 1969 and started airing on HBO in 2016. In 2020, new episodes moved off HBO to stream on HBO Max, since renamed Max.

The upcoming 55th season of Sesame Street this month will be the last to debut on the streamer, according to Variety, although Max will continue to license old episodes from the Sesame Street library through 2027.

The decision comes as Max pivots from children's content toward adult and family programming, the New York Times reports.

"Based on consumer usage and feedback, we've had to prioritize our focus on stories for adults and families," a Max spokesperson told the Times. "And so new episodes from Sesame Street, at this time, are not as core to our strategy."

CBC News has reached out to Warner Bros. Discovery for comment.

But this shift away from kid's programming isn't unique. Worldwide, there's been a decline in children's shows on traditional television, Craig Reed, executive director of the Tucson-based consulting firm TRAC Media Services, told CBC News Network last month.

"And that's not Sesame Street's problem. That's just the way it is," Reed said. 

Networks Nickelodeon and Disney watched their ratings fall about 90 per cent between 2016 and 2023, according to Nielsen ratings reported on by The Wrap, Instead, kids are turning to YouTube, according to Nielsen's Media Distributor Gauge, which reported that in the month of July, kids and teens made up 28 per cent of YouTube's massive ratings.

In a statement to CBC News Network, Sesame Workshop, which produces the show, said it was looking forward to announcing new distribution plans in the coming months, "ensuring that Sesame Street reaches as many children as possible for generations to come."

Aimed at pre-schoolers, Sesame Street created Muppets like Elmo, Big Bird and Cookie Monster that have become cultural icons around the world. The show has won more than 150 Emmy awards and is broadcast in some 140 nations.

But in recent years, children's television programming has become a tough sell. And what's happening with Sesame Street is representative of the challenges faced by kids content creators, J.J. Johnson, co-founder of Toronto-based kids programming creator Sinking Ship Entertainment, told CBC News Network.

"Sesame Street has kind of become a little bit of the canary in the coal mine," Johnson said. "Kids are obviously watching on different platforms. And so how do you find them where they're at?"