Arts and Humanities Commons^™

What "Sesame Street" Can Teach Us About Hbo, Shayne Pepper

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Symposium

In late 2015, news headlines announced HBO’s acquisition of first-run rights to air new episodes of Sesame Street nine months before their PBS debut. Some critics joked that it would birth an edgier version of Sesame Street for HBO, while others lamented the apparent stratification of children’s programming that such a move could create between kids whose families could afford cable and those whose could not. While most articles noted that HBO’s previous work with Muppets in Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock (1983 – 1987), many conveyed a tone of surprise about this brave new world of Sesame Street on subscription …