Through a new deal inked with non-profit producer Sesame Workshop, hundreds of classic Sesame Street episodes will be available to watch on YouTube. The expanded partnership between studio and platform will make YouTube host to the largest digital library of Sesame Street content — and also covers new original content to be produced by Sesame Workshop.
Back episodes of Sesame Street will begin rolling out on YouTube in January 2026. The platform, which is home to a number of popular preschool and infant programs, including the animated sensation CoComelon, told The Hollywood Reporter that viewership of Sesame Street content went up by more than 130% over the past year, surpassing 5 billion views.
Earlier this year, Netflix scooped up rights to premiere new episodes of Sesame Street as well as approximately 90 hours of library episodes in a deal which also granted same-day premiere rights to PBS. The agreement takes effect in November with the launch of Season 56, which will introduce a reimagined format for the show as well as a new animated segment series, Tales from 123.
Netflix brough the lovable muppets and monsters of Sesame Street into its neighborhood after the show’s deal with Max (HBO Max) was dropped in December 2024. The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer has been shedding its animation and kids content since its $43 billion merger in 2022. New episodes of Sesame Street had premiered on HBO since 2016, ahead of their release on pubcaster PBS, and the show’s five-year deal with HBO Max was inked in 2019.
[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]
