HBO Max is not having a good day after pulling nearly 200 older episodes of the adored children’s program “Sesame Street” from its streaming service.
According to Variety, the portal currently only has 456 episodes of the iconic series available, down from an estimated 650 episodes previously.
The modification follows HBO Max’s earlier-this-week announcement that it would drop 36 titles from its catalog in order to get ready for its merger with Discovery Plus into a single streaming service.
The statement read, “We will be making modifications to the content offering available on both HBO Max and discovery+ as we move toward merging our content portfolios together under one platform. “That will involve some content being deleted from both platforms.”
Sesame Street promotes inclusion, but Black viewers have been left out.
The teen drama “Generation,” the “Sesame Street” offshoot “The Not-Too-Late-Show with Elmo,” and the animated series “Aquaman: King of Atlantis” are some of the titles scheduled to be removed from HBO Max. Additionally, the streaming service revealed last month that all eight “Harry Potter” films would be dropped. Other programs, including the comedy series “Mrs. Fletcher” and the rock-and-roll drama “Vinyl,” were canceled covertly.
The decision to remove the TV episodes and movies off the service was not explained by HBO Max, but it will allow the firm to save money that would have been used to pay residuals.
A spokesperson for HBO Max said in a statement that “Sesame Street is and has long been a vital element of television culture and a crown jewel of our preschool offering.” The newest season of Sesame Street will premiere this fall, and there are still approximately 400 episodes of the most recent and classic seasons available on Cartoonito on HBO Max. We are devoted to bringing Sesame Street into families’ homes.
An inquiry for comments was not immediately answered by Sesame Workshop representatives.
Early Generation Xers entering preschool and kindergarten were first exposed to Big Bird, Kermit the Frog, and Cookie Monster thanks to the 1969 PBS premiere of “Sesame Street.” In 2020, HBO Max will take off where HBO left off in 2016.
Many supporters expressed their displeasure with the choice via Twitter.
“I abhor this utterly and completely. With my children, I watch Sesame Street,” a Twitter user stated. “My oldest is at the stage where he has favorite episodes that he likes to watch over and over again.”
Another individual said, “It’s very terrible that a kid like my brother would have suddenly lost access to one of their favorite things and there is no reason that a parent can provide them.
I deeply and truly hate this. I watch Sesame Street with my kids. My oldest is at an age where he has specific episodes he likes to rewatch. https://t.co/fde5GBzf1M
— Richard Newby (@RICHARDLNEWBY) August 19, 2022
PBS’s “Sesame Street,” which focuses on showing diversity and inclusiveness, has received praise for its approachable approach to children’s education.
HBO owning Sesame Street is already a slap in the face to Sesame fans. This show was created to give children from low-income families access to early education they might otherwise miss. It’s should be a free public resource, not something you need a subscription to access. https://t.co/yBK6yqlpoM
— Janine Melnitz (@BugEyes64) August 19, 2022
Another supporter stated that the children’s program “should be a free public resource, not something you need a subscription to access,” claiming that it was made to provide low-income children with access to early education they may otherwise miss.