The preschool educational television program "Sesame Street" was first aired on public television stations on November 10, 1969, and reached its 50th season in 2019. The history of "Sesame Street" has reflected changing attitudes to developmental psychology, early childhood education, and cultural diversity. Featuring Jim Henson's Muppets, animation, live shorts, humor and celebrity appearances, it was the first television program of its kind to base its content and production values on laboratory and formative research, and the first to include a curriculum "detailed or stated in terms of measurable outcomes". Initial responses to the show included adulatory reviews, some controversy and high ratings.
Introduction
History of Sesame Street
History of Sesame Street | Introduction
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The preschool educational television program "Sesame Street" was first aired on public television stations on November 10, 1969, and reached its 50th season in 2019. The history of "Sesame Street" has reflected changing attitudes to developmental psychology, early childhood education, and cultural diversity. Featuring Jim Henson's Muppets, animation, live shorts, humor and celebrity appearances, it was the first television program of its kind to base its content and production values on laboratory and formative research, and the first to include a curriculum "detailed or stated in terms of measurable outcomes". Initial responses to the show included adulatory reviews, some controversy and high ratings.
History of Sesame Street | Introduction
During the production of "Sesame Street's" first season, producers created five one-hour episodes to test the show's appeal to children and examine their comprehension of the material. Not intended for broadcast, they were presented to preschoolers in 60 homes throughout Philadelphia and in day care centers in New York City in July 1969. The results were "generally very positive"; children learned from the shows, their appeal was high, and their attention was sustained over the full hour. However, the researchers found that although children's attention was high during the Muppet segments, their interest wavered during the "Street" segments, when no Muppets were on screen.
History of Sesame Street | July 1969 test episodes
Two days before the show's premiere, a thirty-minute preview entitled "This Way to Sesame Street" aired on NBC. The show was financed by a $50,000 grant from Xerox. Written by Stone and produced by CTW publicist Bob Hatch, it was taped the day before it aired. "Newsday" called the preview "a unique display of cooperation between commercial and noncommercial broadcasters". "Sesame Street" premiered November 10, 1969. It was widely praised for its originality, and was well received by parents as well as children. The show reached only 67.6% of the nation, but earned a 3.3 Nielsen rating, meaning 1.9 million households and 7 million children watched it each day.
History of Sesame Street | Premiere and first season (1969–1970)
Davis includes the biographies of key players in the show's development: Cooney, Morrisett, Jon Stone, Sam Gibbon, Tom Whedon, Evelyn Payne Davis, Jim Henson, Caroll Spinney, Gerald S. Lesser, Edward Palmer, Joe Raposo, Loretta Long, Bob McGrath, Will Lee, and Matt Robinson. There is also a discussion of the history of early children's television; specifically, "Captain Kangaroo" and "The Howdy Doody Show". Davis emphasizes the coincidence that many involved with the show had first names that started with the letter "J:" Joan Cooney, Jon Stone, Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, and Joe Raposo. Chapter 13 ("Intermission"): A description of the first episode of "Sesame Street," which debuted on PBS on November 10, 1969.
Street Gang | Summary
Other reviewers predicted commercial television would be forced to improve its children's programming, something that did not substantially occur until the 1990s. "Sesame Street" won a Peabody Award, three Emmys, and the Prix Jeunesse award in 1970. President Richard Nixon sent Cooney a congratulatory letter, and Dr. Benjamin Spock predicted the program would result in "better-trained citizens, fewer unemployables in the next generation, fewer people on welfare, and smaller jail populations".
History of Sesame Street | Premiere and first season (1969–1970)
As Davis states, "To see that first episode today—and the four succeeding ones in "Sesame's" first week—is to be transported back to 1969". The first show was sponsored by the letters "W", "S", and "E" and by the numbers "2" and "3".
Street Gang | Summary
This was because the producers had followed the advice of child psychologists who were concerned that children would be confused if human actors and Muppets were shown together. As a result of this decision, the appeal of the test episodes was lower than the target. The Street scenes, as Palmer described them, were "the glue" that "pulled the show together", so producers knew they needed to make significant changes. On the basis of their experience on "Captain Kangaroo", Cannell, Stone, and Gibbon thought the experts' opinions were "nonsense"; Cooney agreed. Lesser called their decision to defy the recommendations of their advisers "a turning point in the history of "Sesame Street"".
History of Sesame Street | July 1969 test episodes
In "Sesame Street's" first season, the ETS reported that children who watched the show scored higher in tests than less-frequent viewers. In November 1970, the cover of "Time" magazine featured Big Bird, who had received more fan mail than any of the show's human hosts. The magazine declared, "... It is not only the best children's show in TV history, it is one of the best parents' shows as well". An executive at ABC, while recognizing that "Sesame Street" was not perfect, said the show "opened children's TV to taste and wit and substance" and "made the climate right for improvement".
History of Sesame Street | Premiere and first season (1969–1970)
The program premiered on public television stations on November 10, 1969. It was the first preschool educational television program to base its contents and production values on laboratory and formative research. Initial responses to the show included adulatory reviews, some controversy, and high ratings. By its 50th anniversary in 2019, there were over 150 versions of "Sesame Street", produced in 70 languages. As of 2006, 20 international versions had been produced. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s "Sesame Street" the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, with emphasis on the hiring of women crew members and the addition of minorities to the cast.
Sesame Street | History
They were able to record almost every second of "Sesame Street" this way; if the episode captured the children's interest 80–90% of the time, the producers would air it, but if it only tested 50%, they would reshoot. By the fourth season of the show, the episodes rarely tested below 85%.
History of Sesame Street | Use of research in production
In late 2015, as part of a five-year programming and development deal, it was announced that premium television service HBO would air first-run episodes of "Sesame Street". Episodes became available on PBS stations and websites nine months after they aired on HBO. The move came after "sweeping changes in the media business". "Sesame Street" was operating at a loss of $11 million in 2014; according to the "Hollywood Reporter" in 2019, it was one of the reasons for the move to HBO the following year. The deal allowed Sesame Workshop to produce more episodes, about 35 new episodes per season, compared to the 18 episodes per season it aired previously, and provided the opportunity to create a spinoff series with the "Sesame Street" Muppets and a new educational series.
History of Sesame Street | 2010s
The producers reshot the Street segments; Henson and his coworkers created Muppets that could interact with the human actors, specifically Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird, who became two of the show's most enduring characters. In addition, the producers found Saunders' role as Gordon not to be as likable by children watching the show, resulting in the character being recast by Matt Robinson, who was initially the show's filmed segments producer. These test episodes were directly responsible for what Gladwell called "the essence of "Sesame Street"—the artful blend of fluffy monsters and earnest adults".
History of Sesame Street | July 1969 test episodes
During the same period there were discussions about broadcasting the U.S. version in Britain or producing a British version of Sesame Street, but British broadcasters found the show too controversial and rejected the idea. The American version was broadcast throughout the UK on a limited basis starting in 1971, but went off the air in 2001.
Sesame Street international co-productions | History
After the turn of the 21st century, "Sesame Street" made major structural changes. For example, starting in 2002, its format became more narrative and included ongoing storylines. After its thirtieth anniversary in 1999, due to the popularity of the Muppet Elmo the show also incorporated a popular segment known as "Elmo's World". In 2009, the show was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Emmy for its 40 years on the air.
Sesame Street | History
His policies provided the show with a succession of female producers and writers, many of whom went on to lead the boom in children's programming at Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel, and PBS in the 1990s and 2000s. One of these women was Dulcy Singer, who later became the first female executive producer of "Sesame Street". After the show's initial success, its producers began to think about its survival beyond its development and first season and decided to explore other funding sources. The CTW decided to depend upon government agencies and private foundations to develop the show. This would protect it from the financial pressures experienced by commercial networks, but created problems in finding continued support.
History of Sesame Street | 1970s
The CTW approached Random House to establish and manage a non-broadcast materials division. Random House and the CTW named Christopher Cerf to assist the CTW in publishing books and other materials that emphasized the curriculum. In 1980, the CTW began to produce a touring stage production based upon the show, written by Connell and performed by the Ice Follies.
History of Sesame Street | 1970s
Steve Youngwood, SW's Chief Operating Officer, called the move "one of the toughest decisions we ever made". According to "The New York Times", the move "drew an immediate backlash". Critics claimed that it favored privileged children over less-advantaged children and their families, the original focus of the show. They also criticized choosing to air first-run episodes on HBO, a network with adult dramas and comedies. In 2017, in response to the changing viewing habits of toddlers, the show's producers decreased its length of episodes presented on all platforms from one hour to thirty minutes, focused on fewer characters, reduced the pop culture references "once included as winks for their parents", and focused "on a single backbone topic".
History of Sesame Street | 2010s
The research team conducted a series of studies before the episode to ascertain if children were able to understand the messages they wanted to convey about Mr. Hooper's death; the research showed most children did understand. Parents' reactions to the episode were, according to the CTW's own reports, "overwhelmingly positive". The episode, which won an Emmy, aired on Thanksgiving Day in 1983 so parents could be home to discuss it with their children. Author David Borgenicht called the episode "poignant"; Davis called it "a landmark broadcast" and "a truly memorable episode, one of the show's best". Caroll Spinney, who played Big Bird and who drew the caricatures prominently used in the episode, reported the cast and crew were moved to tears during filming.
History of Sesame Street | 1980s
federal government to create and produce a new children's television show. By the show's tenth anniversary in 1979, nine million American children under the age of six were watching "Sesame Street" daily, and several studies showed it was having a positive educational impact. The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. In 1981, the federal government withdrew its funding, so the CTW turned to other sources, such as its magazine division, book royalties, product licensing and foreign income. During the 1980s, "Sesame Street"s curriculum expanded to include topics such as relationships, ethics and emotions.
History of Sesame Street | Introduction
Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series that combines live action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) until June 2000) and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. The program is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's Muppets, and includes short films, with humor and cultural references. The series premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership; it has aired on the U.S.'s national public television provider PBS since its debut, with its first run moving to premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016, then its sister streaming service HBO Max in 2020.
Sesame Street | Introduction
The 2008–2009 recession, which led to budget cuts for many nonprofit arts organizations, severely affected "Sesame Street"; in spring 2009, Sesame Workshop had to lay off 20% of its staff. By the show's 40th anniversary, it was ranked the fifteenth most popular children's show on television. When the show premiered in 1969, 130 episodes a year were produced; in 2009, because of rising costs, twenty-six episodes were made. According to the "Hollywood Reporter", corporate funding "dried up" and DVD sales "bottomed up". Also by 2009, Sesame Workshop started a new website containing a large library of classic and more recent free video clips, as well as a series of podcasts.
History of Sesame Street | 2000s
"Sesame Street" was conceived in 1966 during discussions between television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and Carnegie Foundation vice president Lloyd Morrisett. Their goal was to create a children's television show that would "master the addictive qualities of television and do something good with them", such as helping young children prepare for school. After two years of research, the newly formed Children's Television Workshop (CTW) received a combined grant of US$8 million ($ million in dollars) from the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the U.S. federal government to create and produce a new children's television show.
Sesame Street | History
Sherman called the show's new look "startlingly different". Following its tradition of addressing emotionally difficult topics, "Sesame Street's" producers chose to address the attacks of 9/11 during this season on its premiere episode, which aired February 4, 2002. This episode, as well as a series of four episodes that aired after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, were used in Sesame Workshop's Community Outreach program. In 2006, the United States Department of State called "Sesame Street" "the most widely viewed children's television show in the world". Over half of the show's international co-productions were made after 2001; according to the 2006 documentary "The World According to Sesame Street", the events of 9/11 inspired the producers of these co-productions.
History of Sesame Street | 2000s
Original name: Sesame Street Origin: United States Date started: 1969 Creators: Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett First network to broadcast: National Educational Television First country to adapt: Brazil
List of television show franchises | "<a href="Sesame%20Street">Sesame Street</a>"
By the mid-1970s, "Sesame Street", according to Davis, had become "an American institution". ETS conducted two "landmark" studies of the show in 1970 and 1971 which demonstrated "Sesame Street" had a positive educational impact on its viewers. The results of these studies led to the producers securing funding for the show over the next several years, and provided the CTW with additional ways to promote it. By the second season, "Sesame Street" had become so popular that the design of ETS' experiments to track the show's educational outcomes had to be changed: instead of comparing viewers with a control group of non-viewers, the researchers studied the differences among levels of viewing.
History of Sesame Street | 1970s
This era in the show's history was marked by conflicts between the CTW and the federal government; in 1978, the U.S. Department of Education refused to deliver a $2 million check until the last day of the CTW's fiscal year. As a result, the CTW decided to depend upon licensing arrangements, publishing, and international sales for its funding. Henson owned the trademarks to the Muppet characters: he was reluctant to market them at first, but agreed when the CTW promised that the profits from toys, books, and other products were to be used exclusively to fund the CTW. The producers demanded complete control over all products and product decisions; any product line associated with the show had to be educational, inexpensive, and not advertised during its airings.
History of Sesame Street | 1970s
After a pilot episode entitled "Sesamplein" ("Sesame Square"), "Sesamstraat" began broadcasting in 1976. It started as a Dutch/Belgian coproduction, with only one thirty-minute episode a week. These episodes had only 12 minutes allotted for the Dutch cast. At this time there were only two Muppets and three live actors, Piet Hendriks, Sien Diels, and Annet van Heusden. Piet, who owned a hobby and crafts workshop and a camper which he would drive around The Netherlands and Belgium for live trips. Sien, who owned a grocery store, where the exchange of knowledge and happenings were as important as the selling of products.
Sesamstraat | History
After "Sesame Street"s first season, its critics forced its producers and researchers to address more overtly such affective goals as social competence, tolerance of diversity, and nonaggressive ways of resolving conflict. These issues were addressed through interpersonal disputes among its Street characters. During the 1980s, the show incorporated the real-life experiences of the show's cast and crew, including the death of Will Lee (Mr. Hooper) and the pregnancy of Sonia Manzano (Maria) to address affective concerns. In later seasons, "Sesame Street" addressed real-life disasters such as the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
Sesame Street | Educational goals
In 2020, first-run "Sesame Street" episodes will move to HBO Max starting with its 51st season. On July 25, 2018, it was announced that an animated series entitled "Esme & Roy", also produced by Sesame Workshop, which premiered on August 18th of that year.
HBO Kids | History
"Sesame Street" was the first children's television program that used a curriculum with clear and measurable outcomes, and was the first to use research in the creation of the show's design and content. Research in "Sesame Street" had three functions: to test if the show was appealing to children, to discover what could be done to make the show more appealing, and to report to the public and the investors what impact the show had on its young viewers. Ten to fifteen percent of the show's initial budget of $8 million was devoted to research, and researchers were always present in the studio during the show's filming.
History of Sesame Street | Use of research in production
"Sesame Street" was not without its detractors, however. The state commission in Mississippi, where Henson was from, operated the state's PBS member station; in May 1970 it voted to not air "Sesame Street" because of its "highly [racially] integrated cast of children" which "the commission members felt ... Mississippi was not yet ready for". According to "", Lesser's account of the development and early years of "Sesame Street", there was little criticism of the show in the months following its premiere, but it increased at the end of its first season and beginning of the second season. Historian Robert W.
Sesame Street | Critical reception
The growth of home videos during the '80s and the increase of thirty-minute children's shows on cable had demonstrated that children's attention could be sustained for longer periods of time, but the CTW's researchers found that their viewers, especially the younger ones, lost attention in "Sesame Street" after 40 to 45 minutes. Beginning in 1998, a new 15-minute segment shown at the end of each episode, "Elmo's World", used traditional elements (animation, Muppets, music, and live-action film), but had a more sustained narrative. "Elmo's World" followed the same structure each episode, and depended heavily on repetition. Unlike the realism of the rest of the show, the segment took place in a stylized crayon-drawing universe as conceived by its host.
History of Sesame Street | 1990s
Several segments of "Sesame Street" produced in the 1970s also made use of music from "The In Sound from Way Out", as did other television programs, such as "The Red Skelton Show". A skit from the October 23, 1976 airing of "Saturday Night Live" titled "Jeopardy! 1999" used "Unidentified Flying Object" as the opening and closing themes.
Perrey and Kingsley | Commercial period (1967–1980)
Fisch, children's television programs of the 1950s and 1960s duplicated "prior media forms". For example, they tended to show simple shots of a camera's-eye view of a location filled with children, or they recreated storybooks with shots of book covers and motionless illustrated pages. The hosts of these programs were "insufferably condescending", though one exception was "Captain Kangaroo", created and hosted by Bob Keeshan, which author Michael Davis described as having a "slower pace and idealism" that most other children's shows lacked. Early childhood educational research had shown that when children were prepared to succeed in school, they earned higher grades and learned more effectively.
History of Sesame Street | Background
The show's success continued into the 1980s. In 1981, when the federal government withdrew its funding, CTW turned to, and expanded, other revenue sources, including its magazine division, book royalties, product licensing, and foreign broadcast income. "Sesame Street"s curriculum has expanded to include more affective topics such as relationships, ethics, and emotions. Many of the show's storylines were taken from the experiences of its writing staff, cast, and crew, most notably, the 1982 death of Will Lee—who played Mr. Hooper—and the marriage of Luis and Maria in 1988. By the end of the 1990s, "Sesame Street" faced societal and economic challenges, including changes in viewing habits of young children, competition from other shows, the development of cable television, and a drop in ratings.
Sesame Street | History
In the mid-1980s, Americans were becoming more aware of the prevalence of child abuse, so "Sesame Street"s researchers and producers decided to "reveal" Mr. Snuffleupagus in 1985. "Snuffy" had never been seen by any of the adults on the show and was considered Big Bird's "imaginary friend". The show's producers were concerned about the message being sent to children; "If children saw that the adults didn't believe what Big Bird said (even though it was true), they would be afraid to talk to adults about dramatic or disturbing things that happened to them".
History of Sesame Street | 1980s
"Sesame Street"’s first episode centers on Gordon taking a girl named Sally around Sesame Street, to get acquainted with everyone and everything in her new neighborhood.
The Robinson family (Sesame Street) | 1969–1971
The producers of "Sesame Street, "which premiered in 1969", "used elements of commercial television such as music, humor, sustained action, and a strong visual style, in structuring the format of the show. They also used animation and live-action short films. The show's staff produced segments filmed in-studio with their human and Muppet cast and they contracted out the animations and short films to independent producers. Co-creator Joan Ganz Cooney was the first to suggest that they use commercial-like 12–90-second shorts that consistently repeated several key concepts throughout an episode. The studio segments were written to concentrate on the African-American child, a key component of the show's audience.
Format of Sesame Street | Original format
In 1969, the children's television show "Sesame Street" premiered on the National Educational Television network (later succeeded by PBS) in the United States. Unlike earlier children's programming, the show's producers used research and over 1,000 studies and experiments to create the show and test its impact on its young viewers' learning. By the end of the program's first season, the organization founded to oversee "Sesame Street" production, Children's Television Workshop (CTW), had developed what came to be called "the CTW model": a system of planning, production, and evaluation that combined the expertise of researchers and early childhood educators with that of the program's writers, producers, and directors.
Sesame Street research | Introduction
Many of the show's storylines were taken from the experiences of its writing staff, cast and crew, most notably the death of Will Lee—who played Mr. Hooper—and the marriage of Luis and Maria.
History of Sesame Street | Introduction
From its first episode, "Sesame Street" has structured its format by using "a strong visual style, fast-moving action, humor, and music," as well as animation and live-action short films. When "Sesame Street" premiered, most researchers believed that young children did not have long attention spans; therefore, the new show's producers were concerned that an hour-long show would not hold their audience's attention. At first, the show's "street scenes"—the action taking place on its set—consisted of character-driven interactions and were not written as ongoing stories. Instead, they consisted of individual, curriculum-based segments which were interrupted by "inserts" consisting of puppet sketches, short films, and animations.
Sesame Street | Format
"Sesame Street" premiered on public broadcasting television stations in the US on 10 November 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high ratings. A few months after its debut, producers from several countries requested that the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) create and produce versions of "Sesame Street" in their countries, which came to be called "international co-productions". Producers in the UK began discussing plans to broadcast either a co-production or the American broadcast on British television within six months after the show debuted in the US. The BBC disliked the series from the very beginning and refused to air a British version, claiming that there were already children's television programmes that accomplished the same goals as "Sesame Street".
Sesame Street in the United Kingdom | BBC
During "Sesame Street"s development in 1968, the producers followed the recommendation of child psychologists, who advised them to not allow the direct interaction of the human actors and Muppets because the experts were concerned it would confuse and mislead young children. Shortly before the show's premiere, the producers created five one-hour episodes so that they could test if children found them comprehensible and appealing. They were never intended for broadcast, but were presented to preschoolers in 60 homes throughout Philadelphia in July 1969. The producers found that the results were "generally very positive". However, children attended to the shows during the Muppet segments, but their interest was lost during the street scenes, which featured only humans and were considered "the glue" that "pulled the show together".
Format of Sesame Street | "Street scenes"
"Sesamo Apriti (Open Sesame)" is the Italian version of "Sesame Street", first broadcast in 1971. Approximately 50 episodes of the American show were cut to a half hour, and translated into Italian. A "Sesamo Apriti" board game and record album were released in 1978. "Performers" The voices on the series were dubbed into Italian. Ernesto (Ernie): Dario Mazzoli
Open Sesame (TV series) | "Sesamo Apriti"
The format of "Sesame Street" consisted of a combination of commercial television production elements and educational techniques. It was the first time a more realistic setting, an inner city street and neighborhood, was used for a children's program. At first, each episode was structured like a magazine, but in 1998, as a result of changes in their audience and its viewing habits, the producers researched the reasons for its lower ratings, and changed the show's structure to a more narrative format. The popular, fifteen-minute long segment, "Elmo's World", hosted by the Muppet Elmo, was added in 1998 to make the show more accessible to a younger audience.
Format of Sesame Street | Introduction
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader urged parents to protest the move by boycotting the show. For "Sesame Street"s 30th anniversary in 1999, its producers researched the reasons for the show's lower ratings. For the first time since the show debuted, the producers and a team of researchers analyzed "Sesame Street" content and structure during a series of two-week-long workshops. They also studied how children's viewing habits had changed since the show's premiere. They found that although "Sesame Street" was produced for three -to five-year olds, children began watching it at a younger age. Preschool television had become more competitive, and the CTW's research showed the traditional magazine format was not the best way to attract young children's attention.
History of Sesame Street | 1990s
During the second season of "Sesame Street", to capitalize on the momentum the Workshop was enjoying and the attention it received from the press, the Workshop created its second series, "The Electric Company", in 1971. Morrisett used the same fund-acquisition techniques as he had used for "Sesame Street". "The Electric Company" stopped production in 1977, but continued in reruns until 1985; it eventually became one of the most widely used TV shows in American classrooms and was revived in 2009. Starting in the early 1970s, the Workshop ventured into adult programming, but found that it was difficult to make their programs accessible to all socio-economic groups.
Sesame Workshop | Early years
"Sesame Street", which premiered in 1969, was the first children's television program to use a detailed and comprehensive educational curriculum, with specific educational goals, in its content. The show's goals included both cognitive and affective objectives. Initially, the cognitive skills of its young viewers were stressed over affective skills, which were addressed indirectly because the producers, writers, and researchers believed that focusing on cognitive skills would increase children's self-esteem and feelings of competency. Eventually, after the show's first season, its critics forced its staff to address affective goals more overtly, which occurred after "extensive research and planning". According to writer Michael Davis, "Sesame Street"'s curriculum began addressing affective goals more overtly during the 1980s.
Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce | Background
In 1977, a German street set was built at Studio Hamburg for German framing stories. Samson, a bear (1978–2009, and since 2013) and Tiffy the bird (1978–2005) replaced Big Bird (Bibo) and Oscar the Grouch (Oskar der Griesgram) as main characters, and the new version debuted on January 2, 1978. The early puppets were built by Kermit Love; nowadays, Sesame Workshop builds the puppets for Sesamstraße. Each episode featured the new puppets interacting with a pair of human characters; consistently one male, one female. The individual sketches of Sesame Street's original American inhabitants remained the dubbed main part of the show, but some were edited to omit intros that displayed words in English (such as The Adventures of Super Grover or the Sesame Street News Flash skits).
Sesamstraße | The Co-production Era: 1977-onwards
In 2014, in response to increased online and mobile viewing and to the increase in competition from other preschool programs, Sesame Workshop and PBS began producing, airing, and streaming a half-hour version of the program. The hour-long version continued to air on PBS in the mornings and the new version, which consisted of fewer segments, aired in the afternoons, when more children watched television. PBS also began to stream full-length episodes on its website, mobile app, and Roku channel. Also in 2014, Sesame Workshop began an online streaming subscription service called Sesame Go, which aired both old and new episodes of the show.
History of Sesame Street | 2010s
The VEE Corporation was started in March 1980 by founder Vincent Egan, who had an idea to produce a live-character show based on "Sesame Street". He had worked for the Ice Follies tour, which had a segment featuring Muppets. Egan approached Jim Henson's company and Children's Television Workshop, who were interested. With outside funding, Vee was able to sign a licensing agreement with the Children's Television Workshop for the characters. The first "Sesame Street Live" show opened in September 1980 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota for a successful five-day run. The following shows in five locations had lackluster attendance costing VEE the profits made in Bloomington.
Sesame Street Live | History
In 1984, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deregulated commercial restrictions on children's television. Advertising during network children's programs almost doubled, and deregulation resulted in an increase in commercially oriented programming. "Sesame Street" was successful during this era of deregulation despite the fact that the United States government terminated all federal funding of the CTW in 1981. By 1987, the show was earning $42 million per year from its magazine division, book royalties, product licensing, and foreign income—enough to cover two-thirds of its expenses. Its remaining budget, plus a $6 million surplus, was covered by revenue from its PBS broadcasts. According to Davis, "Sesame Street"s second decade was spent "turning inward, expanding its young viewers' world".
History of Sesame Street | 1980s
On November 10, 1969, "Sesame Street" — starring Jim Henson’s Muppets — debuted. “Lloyd underplays his role in the development of "Sesame Street",” said John Gardner, former president Carnegie Corporation of New York. “He’s modest, but people who saw the beginnings of "Sesame Street" agree that he played a very significant contributing role as a member of that very small group.” As of 2008, the series has received 118 Emmy Awards — more than any other television series. An estimated 77 million Americans watched the series as children. In addition to "Sesame Street", at least seventeen indigenous, locally produced versions of the show are seen in countries around the world.
Lloyd Morrisett | "Sesame Street"
The "Sesame Street" episode (#1839) in which the death of Mr. Hooper was discussed was structured as all episodes were structured at the time, with individual segments that took place on the main brownstone set and interrupted by inserts, or puppet skits, short films, and animations. The episode begins with a scene between Gordon (Roscoe Orman) and the Muppet Forgetful Jones (Richard Hunt). Gordon helps Forgetful remember something that had made him happy; as Davis states, "Later, Big Bird forgets something that makes him sad". After several inserts, Big Bird walks backward with his head between his legs; when Gordon asks him why, he answers, "Just because".
Mr. Hooper | Synopsis
Shortly after the CTW was created in 1968, Joan Ganz Cooney was named its first executive director. She was one of the first female executives in American television. Her appointment was called "one of the most important television developments of the decade". She assembled a team of producers, all of whom had previously worked on "Captain Kangaroo". Jon Stone was responsible for writing, casting, and format; Dave Connell took over animation; and Sam Gibbon served as the show's chief liaison between the production staff and the research team. Cameraman Frankie Biondo worked on "Sesame Street" from its first episode. Jim Henson and the Muppets' involvement in "Sesame Street" began when he and Cooney met at one of the curriculum planning seminars in Boston.
Sesame Street | Cast, crew and characters
When a script was completed, the show's research team analyzed it to ensure that the goals were met. Then each production department met to determine what each episode needed in terms of costumes, lights, and sets. The writers were present during the show's taping, which for the first twenty-four years of the show took place in Manhattan, and after 1992, at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens to make last-minute revisions when necessary.
Sesame Street | Writing
The earliest seasons of "Sesamstrasse", while not officially part of the format, used a variation, but incorporated a greater amount of local film and cartoon inserts.
Open Sesame (TV series) | Earliest known use
The producers spent eighteen months preparing the new show, something unprecedented in children's television. The show had a budget of $28,000 per episode. After being named executive director of the CTW, Cooney began to assemble a team of producers: Jon Stone was responsible for writing, casting, and format; David Connell took over animation and volume; and Samuel Gibbon served as the show's chief liaison between the production staff and the research team. Stone, Connell, and Gibbon had worked on "Captain Kangaroo" together, but were not involved in children's television when Cooney recruited them. At first, Cooney planned to divide the show's production of five episodes a week among several teams, but she was advised by CBS vice-president Mike Dann to use only one.
History of Sesame Street | Development
This production team was led by Connell, who had gained experience producing many episodes in a short period of time, a process called "volume production", during his eleven years working on "Captain Kangaroo". The CTW hired Harvard University professor Gerald S. Lesser to design the show's educational objectives and establish and lead a National Board of Advisers. Instead of providing what Lesser called "window dressing", the Board actively participated in the construction of educational goals and creative methods. At the Board's direction, Lesser conducted five three-day curriculum planning seminars in Boston and New York City in summer 1968. The purpose of the seminars was to ascertain which school-preparation skills to emphasize in the new show.
History of Sesame Street | Development
The Count debuted on "Sesame Street" in Episode 0406, the premiere of Season 4 (1972–73), and he was conceived by Norman Stiles, who wrote the first script. In the Count's very first scene, Ernie told Bert to watch his pyramid of blocks and make sure nothing happened to it while he got his camera to take a picture of the pyramid. The Count then walked by, counted the blocks, and in the process, took Ernie's pyramid apart, before Bert could stop him. He then counted the blocks again, moving them back into place. Bert yelled at the Count for moving Ernie's blocks, so the Count counted the blocks again, taking the pyramid apart.
Count von Count | Character history
With the funding for his corporation that he started on March 14, 1980, VEE Corporation was able to sign a licensing agreement with the Children's Television Workshop for the characters. The first Sesame Street Live show opened in September 1980 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota for a five-day run. That show was successful. The following shows in five locations had lackluster attendance costing VEE the profits made in Bloomington. Egan figured that the marketing material was confusing people in those markets as what type of show was not specified. He overhauled the script and marketing while getting his creditors to wait for payments.
Vincent Egan | Life
By summer 1970, Dann had made the first international agreements for what the CTW later called "co-productions". 38 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television stations broadcast "Sesame Street" to Canada's English-speaking provinces. The Armed Forces Radio and Television Network agreed to air the first 130 episodes of the U.S.-made show for children of military personnel serving in 16 countries, including Iceland, Greece, Ethiopia, and South Korea. During his tenure at CTW, Dann also made agreements with several Caribbean nations, Mexico, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, France, Israel, and Germany. He later told author Michael Davis, "I was aggressive and I knew people around the world".
Sesame Street international co-productions | History
A few months after the 1969 premiere of the children's television program Sesame Street in the U.S., talks began in the United Kingdom to broadcast the programme or develop a co-production on British television. The idea was controversial at the time; the BBC was opposed to it, and ITV was reluctant. Response from parents, educators, and television officials to the show was varied, ranging from distaste to acceptance. After much public debate, the BBC chose not to air "Sesame Street" for several reasons, including the show's educational methods, its creation for American audiences, and the UK's long history of quality educational television programmes for young children.
Sesame Street in the United Kingdom | Introduction
In 1998, the CTW accepted corporate sponsorship to raise funds for "Sesame Street" and other projects. For the first time, they allowed short advertisements by indoor playground manufacturer Discovery Zone, their first corporate sponsor, to air before and after each episode. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who had previously appeared on "Sesame Street", called for a boycott of the show, saying that the CTW was "exploiting impressionable children". In 2015, in response to funding challenges, it was announced that premium television service HBO would air first-run episodes of "Sesame Street". Steve Youngwood, SW's Chief Operating Officer, called the move "one of the toughest decisions we ever made".
Sesame Street | Funding
After "Sesame Street"s initial success, its producers began to think about its survival beyond its development and first season and decided to explore other funding sources. From the first season, they understood that the source of their funding, which they considered "seed" money, would need to be replaced. The 1970s were marked by conflicts between the CTW and the federal government; in 1978, the U.S. Department of Education refused to deliver a $2 million check until the last day of CTW's fiscal year. As a result, the CTW decided to depend upon licensing arrangements with toy companies and other manufacturers, publishing, and international sales for their funding.
Sesame Street | Funding
After a short test run of a few original, undubbed "Sesame Street" episodes from August 1972 onward, the German version of the show premiered on 8 January 1973. The first three seasons, or 250, episodes of "Sesamstraße" consisted of the original American episodes dubbed into German in Hamburg. Only the opening and closing songs and sequences were changed, with new lyrics written by Volker Ludwig and tunes by Ingfried Hoffmann. The title of the German theme song is "Der, die, das" (wer, wie, was – wieso, weshalb, warum – wer nicht fragt, bleibt dumm!), almost literally translating to "this, this and that (who, how, what – why, why and why – those who don't ask stay dumb!)".
Sesamstraße | The Dubbed Era: 1973-onwards
In re-tests four weeks later, it found that children retained most of what they learned. After the first three weeks, or 15 episodes, viewers and non-viewers were compared; few differences in learning were found. When both groups were tested after six weeks more differences began to appear, with viewers scoring higher than non-viewers. A two-season CTW study published in 1995 found a "significant increase" in difficulty in remembering the letter and number of the day. Based on the multiple-intelligence theory, producers began to cluster "Sesame Street's" short films, animations, and inserts around a single topic rather than sprinkling several topics throughout a single episode.
Sesame Street research | Results
Iftah Ya Simsim (; meaning "Open Sesame") is the first international co-production of the American children's television series "Sesame Street" created in the Arab world. It premiered in Kuwait on September 14, 1979 and was broadcast in 22 Arabic-speaking countries, running until June 23, 1989. The program continued to be well-known decades after it went off the air. In 1978, educators, mass media officers, and social planners agreed to adopt "Sesame Street" as a feasible and economical solution for the low attendance in preschools and illiteracy that plagued the region. They approached the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), the producers of the American show, and purchased the rights to create an Arab version for US$2.5 million.
Iftah Ya Simsim | Introduction
The first international co-production of "Sesame Street" was Brazil's "Vila Sésamo", which first aired in 1972 and had an initial run of two years. Its set consisted of an open plaza. The Muppet Garibaldo was "the centerpiece" of the Brazil co-production and remained popular with viewers when the show was revived in 2007. Garibaldo's performer in the revival, Fernando Gomes, became a puppeteer because of the original Brazilian show's influence. It was broadcast in Portuguese. "Plaza Sésamo" was also produced in 1972, in Mexico. This co-production has also been broadcast in Puerto Rico and in Spanish-speaking Latin America since 1973, and has aired on Spanish television stations in the U.S.
Sesame Street international co-productions | 1970s
The show's curriculum grew to include more "affective" teaching—relationships, ethics, and positive and negative emotions. Many of the show's storylines were taken from the experiences of its writing staff, cast, and crew. In 1982, Will Lee, who had played Mr. Hooper since the show's premiere, died. For the 1983 season, the show's producers and research staff decided they would explain Mr. Hooper's death to their preschool audience, instead of recasting the role: the writer of that episode, Norman Stiles, said, "We felt we owed something to a man we respected and loved". They convened a group of psychologists, religious leaders, and other experts in the field of grief, loss, and separation.
History of Sesame Street | 1980s
The appeal of the test episodes was lower than they preferred, so the producers re-shot the street segments. Henson and his team created Muppets that could interact with the human actors; specifically, as the show's researchers put it, "two of "Sesame Street"s most enduring Muppets: Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird". The test episodes were responsible for what writer Malcolm Gladwell called "the essence of "Sesame Street"—the artful blend of fluffy monsters and earnest adults". CTW researcher Gerald Lesser called the producers' decision to defy the recommendations of their advisers "a turning point in the history of "Sesame Street"".
Format of Sesame Street | "Street scenes"
Sesame Street... 20 Years & Still Counting is a 1989 American television special to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of "Sesame Street". Hosted by Bill Cosby, the special aired on Friday, April 7, 1989 on NBC. This special was originally produced by Children's Television Workshop, in association with The Jim Henson Company. (one of the few "Sesame Street" productions they directly produced, though an "Executive Producer for CTW" credit was included in the end credits) and was meant to air as part of "The Jim Henson Hour", but ended up airing as a solo special the week before the premiere episode aired.
Sesame Street... 20 Years &amp; Still Counting | Introduction
By its 40th anniversary in 2009, "Sesame Street" was broadcast in over 120 countries, and 20 independent international versions had been produced. It has won eleven Grammys and over 150 Emmys in its history—more than any other children's show. The show was conceived in 1966 during discussions between television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and Carnegie Corporation vice president Lloyd Morrisett. Their goal was to create a children's television show that would "master the addictive qualities of television and do something good with them", such as helping young children prepare for school. After two years of research, the newly formed Children's Television Workshop (CTW) received a combined grant of $8 million from the Carnegie Corporation, the Ford Foundation and the U.S.
History of Sesame Street | Introduction
The children's television program "Sesame Street" premiered in 1969 to high ratings, positive reviews, and some controversy, which have continued during its history. Even though the show aired on only 67% of American televisions at the time of its premiere, it earned a 3.3 Nielsen rating, or 1.9 million households. By its tenth anniversary in 1979, 9 million American children under the age of six were watching "Sesame Street" daily. Its ratings declined in the 1990s, due to societal changes. A survey conducted in 1996 found that by the age of three, 95% of all American children had watched it.
Influence of Sesame Street | Introduction
On 24 November 1970, a half hour extract of the programme was shown at a meeting for the Society for Film and Television Arts. One member stated, "There is not much chance of it appearing on British television, but the Department of Education and Science was looking into using the programme in schools". Cooney said, "One day we thought: Can't we use commercials, not to sell products but to teach letters and numbers".
Sesame Street in the United Kingdom | BBC
Previously, from November 3, 1974 to March 29, 1978, segments of the American "Sesame Street" were simply acquired and dubbed into Spanish to be aired with the title "Ábrete Sésamo" (es. Open Sesame) as part of a program "container" called "Un globo, dos globos, tres globos"
Barrio Sésamo | Ábrete Sésamo (1974-1978) (1st Run)
"Sesame Street" is an American children's television program that is known for its use of format and structure to convey educational concepts to its preschool audience, and to help them prepare for school. It utilizes the conventions of television such as music, humor, sustained action, and a strong visual style, and combines Jim Henson's Muppets, animation, short films, humor, and cultural references. The show, which premiered in 1969, was the first to base its contents, format, and production values on laboratory and formative research. According to researchers, it was also the first to include a curriculum "detailed or stated in terms of measurable outcomes".
Format of Sesame Street | Introduction
Its first twelve chapters describe the origin, development, and early years of "Sesame Street" and the Children's Television Workshop, the organization created to oversee the production of the show and other projects. Davis includes the biographies of many of the key people involved with the creation and production of "Sesame Street". Subsequent chapters chronicle the rest of the show's history, up to its 40th anniversary in 2009. Reviews of "Street Gang" were mostly positive. Most reviewers were impressed by Davis' research and attention to detail, but some felt that it was too episodic and was more of an oral history than a dispassionate history of the show's history.
Street Gang | Introduction
Many likened the line to previous series like "Muppet Babies".
Sesame Beginnings | History of the line
His research was so crucial to Sesame Street that Gladwell asserted, "... without Ed Palmer, the show would have never lasted through the first season". Palmer and his team's approach to researching the show's effectiveness was innovative; it was the first time formative research was conducted in this way. For example, Palmer developed "the distractor", which he used to test if the material shown on "Sesame Street" captured young viewers' attention. Two children at a time were brought into the laboratory; they were shown an episode on a television monitor and a slide show next to it. The slides would change every seven seconds, and researchers recorded when the children's attention was diverted away from the episode.
History of Sesame Street | Use of research in production
He would comment in 1972 that the series didn't "teach Spanish, we teach in Spanish."
Emilio Delgado | Early years on Sesame Street (1971-1988)
In 1987, NRK approached Children's Television Workshop about the possibility to make a Norwegian co-production of Sesame Street. In 1989, an agreement was reached between NRK and CTW, and the production of Sesam Stasjon began in September 1990. As part of the preparation for the show, Kermit Love traveled to Norway in June 1990 to teach the Norwegian puppeteers. The first episode aired on NRK on 4 February 1991. In the beginning, the plan was to produce 77 episodes all written by Eyvind Skeie. In 1992, Skeie left the production after finishing his contract of 77 episodes. At the same time, NRK told that they wanted to make another 250 episodes to run through 2006.
Sesam Stasjon | History
As a result of Cooney's proposal, the Carnegie Corporation awarded her a $1 million grant in 1968 to establish the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) to provide support to the creative staff of the new show. Morrisett, who was responsible for fundraising, procured additional grants from the United States federal government, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Ford Foundation for the CTW's initial budget, which totaled $8 million; obtaining funding from this combination of government agencies and private foundations protected the CTW from economic pressures experienced by commercial networks. "Sesame Street" was an expensive program to produce because the creators decided they needed to compete with other programs that invested in professional, high quality production.
History of Sesame Street | Development
In "Sesamstraat's" early years, Belgium television participated in its production, so it also aired there. France aired "Open Sesame" in the early 1970s before creating its own co-production. One version created in 1974, "Bonjour Sésame", was fifteen minutes long and had no street scenes. "1, Rue Sésame "began in 1976; its set consists of a courtyard of a building in a small French town.
Sesame Street international co-productions | 1970s
When "Sesame Street" was released in 1969, the possibility of translating it into Quebec French for broadcast in Quebec was considered. However, the conclusion was that Quebec children would not be able to identify with an American television show, and thus the Quebec Minister of Education began investigating the possibility of a children's show shot in the province. After two years (in 1973), the project was handed over to a producer, Laurent Lachance. However, internal conflict between Lachance and Radio-Québec led to several delays, and ultimately, to Lachance stepping down as producer. The government then turned toward private enterprises, and, on February 14, 1977, contracted JPL Production to produce the show.
Passe-Partout | History
Even though the vocal calypso theme was discontinued after Season 29 from November 17, 1997 to May 15, 1998, the instrumental calypso theme was still used at the beginning of street scenes up to Season 37 from 2006, the final season to use the instrumental opening.
Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? | Opening sequences
ITV's federal structure, which allowed each television company to decide what programmes it would broadcast, meant that it took over 15 years before "Sesame Street" was broadcast in all parts of the UK. The show was broadcast on Saturday mornings or during week-day school holidays. ITV continued to broadcast the series until early 1987, when, after an 8-month hiatus, it reappeared daily on Channel 4 from 30 November 1987 until March 2001. It then continued to air on Saturday mornings until 22 September 2001, when it was replaced by "The Hoobs".
Sesame Street in the United Kingdom | "Sesame Street" broadcast dates in Britain
Since the premiere of the children's television program "Sesame Street" on November 10, 1969, it has included what writer Malcolm Gladwell has called "the essence of "Sesame Street"—the artful blend of fluffy monsters and earnest adults". The original cast, chosen by original producer Jon Stone, consisted of four human actors—Matt Robinson, who played Gordon; Loretta Long, who played Gordon's wife, Susan; Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper; and Bob McGrath, who played Bob. Unlike most children's television programs at the time, the producers of "Sesame Street" decided against using a single host and cast a group of ethnically diverse, primarily African American actors/presenters, with, as "Sesame Street" researcher Gerald S.
List of human Sesame Street characters | Introduction
For the first time since the show debuted, the producers and a team of researchers analyzed "Sesame Street"s content and structure, and studied how children's viewing habits had changed. The analysis was conducted during a series of two-week-long workshops and was completed in time for the show's 30th anniversary in 1999. The CTW found that although the show was produced for children between the ages of three and five, their viewers had become more sophisticated since its debut and began to watch the show sooner, as early as ten months of age. The producers found that the show's original format, which consisted of a series of short clips similar to the structure of a magazine, was not necessarily the most effective way to hold young viewers' attention.
Elmo's World | Background
Bert, Ernie & Cookie Monster tell everybody on Sesame Street that they'll be sad because they don't like to watch "Sesame Street" anymore. Then, we cut to Kermit the Frog in his "Sesame Street News" attire asking people (all of which are Grover) how to get to Sesame Street, occasionally running into people who were on the show when they were kids. The show ends with the characters all singing "Sing". The program was dedicated to the memory of Joe Raposo.
Sesame Street... 20 Years &amp; Still Counting | Introduction
Sesame Street is a nationally syndicated comic strip inspired by "Sesame Street". Written and drawn by veteran Sesame animator Cliff Roberts, the earliest concept art was created in 1970, and by 1971, a promotional booklet was created as the comic entered the market, courtesy of King Features. The strip debuted on November 15, 1971, in more than 175 newspapers, and ran until 1975. The strip, which ran both daily and on Sundays, was conceptually similar to the series in its pedagogical goals, but, in the first year of the strip, conspicuous by the absence of the Muppets. Instead, the strip featured several new characters created by Roberts, such as Jasper and Julius, Christopher Clumsy, and Miss Fortune; in 1972, all of these characters appeared in animated inserts on "Sesame Street" itself.
Sesame Street (comic strip) | Introduction
The children's television show "Sesame Street", which premiered on public broadcasting television stations in 1969, was the first show of its kind that utilized a detailed and comprehensive educational curriculum, with specific educational goals, in its content. Its goals were garnered from in-house formative research and independent summative evaluations, and its first curriculum was created in a series of five seminars in 1968. "Sesame Street" has both cognitive and affective goals. Initially, its producers and researchers focused on their young viewers' cognitive skills, while addressing their affective skills indirectly, because they believed that focusing on cognitive skills would increase children's self-esteem and feelings of competency.
Educational goals of Sesame Street | Introduction
(The facility was later acquired by TeleTape Productions and notably became the first studio where the PBS children's program "Sesame Street" was produced.) CBS Studio 72 was demolished in 1986 and replaced by an apartment house. CBS Studio 50 was finally "colorized" in 1965. The 1965–66 season premiere starred the Beatles in an episode airing on September 12, which was the last episode to air in black and white. This occurred because the episode was taped at the Beatles' convenience on August 14, the eve of their Shea Stadium performance and a two-week tour of North America, slightly before the program was ready for color transmission.
The Ed Sullivan Show | Background
Egan figured that the marketing material was confusing people in those markets as what type of show was not specified. He overhauled the script and marketing while getting his creditors to wait for payments. That Christmas, the show went on to play for four weeks at Madison Square Garden's 4,000-seat Felt Forum in New York City before an audience of 100,000 people. VEE quickly ramped up to two different shows for the 1981–1982 season, then added a third Australia show in 1982–1983. From the 1983-1984 season until the 1988-1989 season there were only two "Sesame Street Live" shows on tour.
Sesame Street Live | History
The producers of "Sesame Street" expanded the new format to the entire show in 2002. The format changed as the target audience did; by 2002 its main viewers were around two years old, while back in the 1960s the intended audiences were aged three through five.
Format of Sesame Street | Introduction
A few months after the 1969 debut of "Sesame Street" on National Educational Television in the United States, producers from Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Iran and Germany requested that the organization responsible for the show's production, the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), create and produce versions of "Sesame Street" in those countries. Even before the American show's debut, the CTW established an international division, which oversaw its licensing in other countries. According to Gregory J. Gettas, the division immediately developed four main licensing policies: (1) Like the American version, all foreign versions had to be broadcast without commercials; (2) any changes would have to meet high production standards, which protected the CTW's proprietary interests; (3) all versions had to reflect the country's cultural values and traditions; and (4) all changes would have to be approved, initiated, and supervised by a local committee working with the CTW.
Sesame Street international co-productions | History
The American Revolution was a recurring segment on Sesame Street that was introduced in Season 20 (1988-1989). It stars the characters of Sesame Street as people from 1776 when the United States of America was born.
List of Sesame Street recurring segments | The American Revolution
In 1969, television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and her staff at the Children's Television Workshop were impressed by the quality and creativity of the Henson-led team, so they asked Henson and staff to work full-time on "Sesame Street", a children's program for public television that premiered on National Educational Television on November 10, 1969. Part of the show was set aside for a series of funny, colorful puppet characters living on Sesame Street, including Grover, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, and Big Bird. Henson performed the characters of Ernie, game-show host Guy Smiley, and Kermit, who appeared as a roving television news reporter.
Jim Henson | "Sesame Street": 1969
The Sesame Street News Flash was a recurring segment on the children's television show "Sesame Street". First aired in 1972, the series starred Kermit the Frog as a trench coat-dressed roving reporter who interviews Muppet versions of characters from fairy tales, Mother Goose nursery rhymes and key moments in history. Given the basic format of the segments, the "Sesame Street News Flash" series served several purposes, namely to act out simple stories and nursery rhymes with which the show's audience might be familiar, and to give children a basic understanding of history. Other skits were spoofs of popular culture (such as one which parodied the then-popular "The Six Million Dollar Man"), while others involved Kermit asking children simple "vox populi", or "man on the street," style questions.
Sesame Street News Flash | Introduction
When "Sesame Street" premiered in 1969, it aired on only 67.6% of American televisions, but it earned a 3.3 Nielsen rating, which totaled 1.9 million households. By the show's tenth anniversary in 1979, nine million American children under the age of 6 were watching "Sesame Street" daily. According to a 1993 survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, out of the show's 6.6 million viewers, 2.4 million kindergartners regularly watched it. 77% of preschoolers watched it once a week, and 86% of kindergartners and first- and second-grade students had watched it once a week before starting school. The show reached most young children in almost all demographic groups.
Sesame Street | Ratings