‘Sesame Street’ for sale as Max cancels deal for new episodes

The cat is out the bag and the Muppet is out of the trash can as streaming service Max has announced it’s unloading its stake in “Sesame Street.”

The premium cable network’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, confirmed on Friday it will end its deal to distribute new episodes of the long-running children’s series.

Max will continue to license episodes from the “Sesame Street” library through 2027, but the upcoming 55th season, premiering in January, will be the last to debut on the platform.

“It has been a wonderful, creative experience working with everyone at ‘Sesame Street’ on the iconic children’s series and we are thrilled to be able to keep some of the library series on Max in the U.S.,” a spokesperson for the streamer told The Hollywood Reporter.

The rep confirmed the decision to end the deal is part of a strategy to prioritize “stories for adults and families,” and shift the focus away from children’s programming.

“Sesame Street” is now on the market as it looks for a new home.

“We will continue to invest in our best-in-class programming and look forward to announcing our new distribution plans in the coming months, ensuring that ‘Sesame Street’ reaches as many children as possible for generations to come,” the show’s producer, Sesame Workshop, said in a statement.

“Sesame Street” has had a bumpy road traversing the streaming landscape ever since HBO landed its agreement in 2015. The deal granted HBO the exclusive rights to run new episodes months before they appear on PBS, where the series had been since 1969.

In 2020, HBO Max abruptly removed about 200 episodes of “Sesame Street” from the streamer, days before announcing the removal of 36 shows, including a “Sesame Street” spinoff.

At the time, Variety reported the sudden move was likely a way for Warner Bros. Discovery to cut streaming-content costs.

In 2023, “Sesame Street” announced its 56th season, set for 2025, would be “reimagined” with a new format in efforts to keep it fresh. Sesame Workshop intends to stick with the new format under whatever deal the organization is able to secure.