Sesame Street | |
---|---|
Genre |
Educational Sketch comedy Puppetry Animation |
Created by |
Joan Ganz Cooney Lloyd Morrisett |
Theme music composer |
Joe Raposo Jon Stone Bruce Hart |
Opening theme | "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?" |
Ending theme | "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?" (Instrumental version, 1969–2015) "Smarter, Stronger, Kinder" (2016–present) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 46 |
No. of episodes | 4,384 |
Production | |
Producer(s) | Samuel Gibbon Jon Stone |
Location(s) | Reeves Teletape Studios (1969–92) Unitel Video, Inc. [some episodes] (1987–93) Manhattan, New York City Kaufman Astoria Studios (1993–present) Astoria, Queens, New York City |
Running time | 60 minutes (1969–2015) 30 minutes (2016–present) |
Production company(s) | Children's Television Workshop (1969–2000) Sesame Workshop (2000–present) |
Release | |
Original network |
NET (1969–70) PBS (1970–2016; second run, 2016–present) HBO (first run, 2016–present) |
Picture format |
480i (SDTV) (1969–2007) 720p & 1080i (HDTV) (2008–present) |
Audio format |
Mono (1969–1992) Stereo (1992–2001) Dolby Surround (2002–06) Dolby Digital (2007–present) |
Original release | November 10, 1969 | – present
Chronology | |
Related shows |
Elmo's World Play with Me Sesame Journey to Ernie Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures Abby's Flying Fairy School Elmo the Musical The Furchester Hotel |
External links | |
Website |
Sesame Street is a long-running American children's television series, produced by Sesame Workshop (formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop) and created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. The program is known for its educational content, and images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's Muppets, animation, short films, 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.
The show has undergone significant changes throughout its history. The format of Sesame Street consists of a combination of commercial television production elements and techniques which have evolved to reflect the changes in American culture and the audience's viewing habits. With the creation of Sesame Street, producers and writers of a children's television show used, for the first time, educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content. It was also the first time a show's educational effects were studied.
Shortly after creating Sesame Street, its producers developed what came to be called the "CTW model" (after the production company's previous name), a system of television show planning, production, and evaluation based on collaborations between producers, writers, educators, and researchers. The show was initially funded by government and private foundations but has become somewhat self-supporting due to revenues from licensing arrangements, international sales, and other media. By 2006, there were independently produced versions, or "co-productions", of Sesame Street broadcast in twenty countries. In 2001 there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of Sesame Street, and by the show's 40th anniversary in 2009, it was broadcast in more than 140 countries.