Classic ‘Sesame Street’ episodes coming to YouTube under expanded deal

“Sesame Street” and YouTube have inked a deal that will bring classic episodes of the popular children’s series to the video platform.

The deal, which starts in January 2026, includes “hundreds” of episodes from the show’s archives.

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit company behind the show that typically airs on PBS member stations, already had an agreement in place for a smaller selection of content to be available on YouTube.

That content racked up 5 billion viewers in the past year, according to YouTube, which was up 130% over the previous year.

YouTube, which is part of Google, also noted that about half of those views came from connected televisions.

In addition, Sesame Workshop will also host a series of seminars for other YouTube creators focusing on how to make their content both educational and entertaining using its research-backed experience.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It was also not clear if the new deal will allow YouTube to insert advertising into “Sesame Street” episodes. YouTube has limits on advertising within content targeted at children, which the new episodes would presumably fall under, especially in regard to personalization and targeting. 

The deal will likely not immediately include the upcoming Season 56 episodes, which are being produced in partnership with Netflix after HBO declined to renew its deal with Sesame Workshop. The Netflix and HBO agreements are separate from the new YouTube partnership. 

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Sesame Workshop’s announcement did not specify how episodes will be selected for YouTube or how long it would take for newer content to start showing up there, though it was previously announced that Netflix had also acquired the rights to about 90 back episodes. Though no details were revealed, streamers often have exclusivity windows for content that could bar it from showing up elsewhere for a certain period of time.

Sesame Workshop has had significant challenges in recent memory. After losing the HBO deal to help fund production of new “Sesame Street” episodes, it was able to strike up an agreement with Netflix.

The show was also trimmed from 60 minutes to 30 minutes when it the HBO deal was signed in 2016.

Partnering with for-profit companies to help fund production of “Sesame Street” was widely seen as a creative way to cover the costs of creating the show, allowing PBS stations to air episodes at no or little cost.

HBO and its parent Warner Bros. Discovery faced significant criticism when the deal was not renewed.

These challenges come as public media is facing challenges as well after Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” gutted funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund both PBS stations across the country and, to a lesser degree, production of certain shows.

CPB is preparing to shut down operations in the coming months and it remains unclear how PBS and NPR stations, especially in rural communities, will be able to make up the funding gaps left.