Posted in: HBO, streaming, TV | Tagged: HBO, hbo max, sesame street, streaming

Sesame Street Loses Some History as HBO Max Pulls About 200 Episodes

Published Fri, 19 Aug 2022 11:23:10 -0500

Though reps for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Sesame Workshop did not respond to requests for comments, Variety did the math, and it looks like HBO Max has shortened quite a few blocks off of Sesame Street, with approximately 200 older episodes of the iconic children's show now pulled from the streamer. The move is just the newest in a series of cost-cutting measures being made by WBD ahead of next year's streaming merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ (with a Summer 2023 launch window reportedly eyed). "As we work toward bringing our content catalogs together under one platform, we will be making changes to the content offering available on both HBO Max and Discovery+," the company said in a statement. "That will include the removal of some content from both platforms."

With HBO and Sesame Workshop's agreement running through 2025, viewers still have access (for now) to the remaining episodes of Sesame Street, as well as the 10-episode Sesame Street Mecha Builders, seven seasons of My Sesame Street Friends, and The Magical Wand Chase special featuring Elmo & Abby. Based on Variety's reporting, here's how the numbers break down:

As of Friday, HBO Max listed 456 total episodes of "Sesame Street," with a selection from Seasons 1, 5 and 7 and the full lineup from the most recent Seasons 39-52. Of those, only 29 are from the earliest seasons. Previously, the streaming service offered about 650 total "Sesame Street" episodes, including episodes from Seasons 2-4 and every season between 8 and 35, as well as specials.

Now here's a rundown of the titles that were confirmed earlier this week for removal (following the removal of a number of other titles last week):

12 Dates of Christmas
About Last Night
Aquaman: King of Atlantis
Close Enough
Detention Adventure
Dodo
Ellen's Next Great Designer
Elliott From Earth
Esme & Roy
The Fungies!
Generation Hustle
Genera+ion
Infinity Train
Little Ellen
Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart
Messy Goes to Okido
Mia's Magic Playground
Mighty Magiswords
My Dinner with Herve
My Mom, Your Dad
Odo
OK, K.O.! – Let's Be Heroes
The Ollie & Moon Show
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
Ravi Patel's Pursuit of Happiness
Select Sesame Street Specials
Make It Big, Make It Small
Share
Squish
Summer Camp Island
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
The Runaway Bunny – Special
Theodosia
Tig n' Seek
Uncle Grandpa
Victor and Valentino
Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs