SESAME STREET, STUDYING THE EDUCATIONAL EFFECTS

Today, The Grandma has been watching one of her favourite TV shows, Sesame Street, the American educational children's television series that debuted on a day like today in 1969.

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 until June 2000) and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. It is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's Muppets, and includes short films, with humor and cultural references. It premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership. It has aired on the United States 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 on November 12, 2020, and most recently Netflix on November 10, 2025.

The show's format consists of a combination of commercial television production elements and techniques that have evolved to reflect changes in American culture and audiences' viewing habits.  

It was the first children's TV show to use educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content, and the first show whose educational effects were formally studied. 

Its format and content have undergone significant changes over the years to reflect changes to its curriculum.

Shortly after its creation, its producers developed what came to be called the CTW Model (after the production company's previous name), a system of planning, production, and evaluation based on collaboration 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, independently produced versions (co-productions) of Sesame Street were broadcast in 20 countries.

In 2001, there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of Sesame Street; and by its 40th anniversary in 2009, it was broadcast in more than 140 countries.

Since its debut, Sesame Street has garnered widespread acclaim, and it is considered one of the greatest television series of all time. It was by then the 15th-highest-rated children's television show in the United States. A 1996 survey found that 95% of all American preschoolers had watched it by the time they were three. In 2018, it was estimated that 86 million Americans had watched it as children. As of 2022, it has won 222 Emmy Awards and 11 Grammy Awards, more than any other children's show. Sesame Street remains one of the longest-running shows in the world.

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 ($69 million in 2024 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 was officially announced at a press conference on May 6, 1969. Joan Ganz Cooney, Children's Television Workshop's executive director, said that Sesame Street would use the techniques of commercial television programs to teach young children. Live shorts and animated cartoons would teach young children the alphabet, numbers, vocabulary, shapes, and basic reasoning skills. By repeating concepts throughout an episode, young children's interest would be held while they learn the concepts. Guest cameos would help attract older children and adults. Cooney said that the name Sesame Street came from the saying open sesame, which gives the idea of a place where exciting things occur. The show was given an initial six-month run to determine whether it was effective and would continue to air.

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.

At its 50th anniversary in 2019, Sesame Street had produced over 4,500 episodes, two feature-length movies (Follow That Bird in 1985 and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland in 1999), 35 TV specials, 200 home videos, and 180 albums. Beginning that year, digitized versions of the show's full archive of episodes were donated to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, viewable on site at the library's locations, with five episodes available for viewing online. 

Its YouTube channel has over 24 million subscribers.

More information: Sesame Street

'Sesame Street' was built on the idea 
that a show that could capture a child's attention 
could also give the child an education. 
That idea turned out to be wildly successful.

Elizabeth Flock