HBO Max removes nearly 200 episodes of ‘Sesame Street’

The change comes after HBO Max announced earlier this week that it would remove 36 titles from its lineup to prepare for its merger into one. unique streaming platform with Discovery Plus.

“As we strive to bring our catalogs of content together on one platform, we will be making changes to the content offering available on both HBO Max and Discovery+,” the statement read. “This will include the removal of certain content from both platforms.”

‘Sesame Street’ Models Inclusiveness, But It Left Black Viewers Behind

Some of the works set to disappear from HBO Max include the teen drama ‘Generation’, the ‘Sesame Street’ spin-off ‘The Not-Too-Late-Show with Elmo’ and the animated series ‘Aquaman: King of Atlantis’. . The streaming platform also announced last month all eight “Harry Potter” the films would be removed. Other shows, such as the comedy series “Mrs. Fletcher” and the rock-and-roll drama “Vinyl” were pulled without a direct announcement.

HBO Max hasn’t announced why the TV shows and movies will be removed from the service, but the move will help the company save money that would have been used to pay for residuals.

“sesame street is and always has been an important part of TV culture and a crown jewel of our preschool offering,” an HBO Max representative wrote in a statement. “We are committed to continuing to provide sesame street in the homes of families, including the new season that will be released this fall and the nearly 400 episodes of the most recent and historical seasons that remain on Cartoonito on HBO Max.

Representatives for Sesame Workshop did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Sesame Street” first aired on PBS in 1969, introducing Big Bird, Kermit the Frog, and Cookie Monster to the first members of Generation X starting preschool and kindergarten. It started airing on HBO in 2016, then on HBO Max in 2020.

The decision drew many fans to tweet their displeasure.

“I deeply and really hate that. I watch Sesame Street with my kids,” said twitter user wrote. “My eldest is at an age where he has specific episodes he likes to rewatch.”

“It’s so sad that a child like my brother could have lost access to one of his favorite things and there’s no explanation any parent can give him,” another the person commented.

“Sesame Street,” which airs on PBS, has been widely celebrated for its child-friendly education and commitment to portraying diversity and inclusion.

“This show was created to give children from low-income families access to an early education they might otherwise miss out on,” another fan noted, saying the kids’ show “should be a free public resource, not something you need a subscription to access”.