Sesame Street

TV Kids Weekly, December
19, 2006

NAME: Sesame Street

ORIGIN: The idea for Sesame Street originated with Joan Ganz Cooney. In
the 1960s, Cooney suggested harnessing the power of television as a means to
bridging the gap between children from lower and higher socio-economic
backgrounds entering kindergarten, a novel idea at that time. Sesame Street premiered as "an experiment"
on November 10, 1969, and thanks to Cooney, Jim Henson, and an incredible team
of child development experts and creative minds, the show is still on 37 years
later!

CREATORS: Joan Ganz Cooney and Jim Henson

TV SHOW: Since its debut in 1969, Sesame
Street has educated,
engaged and inspired preschoolers with content that prepares them for school
and life. Sesame Street is tailored to the learning needs of children 2- to 4-years old,
keeping them laughing, learning and playing along. Grounded in the
cognitive basics, the program presents viewers with lessons in literacy and
numeracy as well as social, physical and emotional skills important for school
readiness. Sesame Street is committed to today's preschoolers and their caregivers,
presenting them with a multi-curricular framework through a unique blend of
wit, charm, feathers and fur. Now in its 37th season, Sesame Street has been honored with over 109 Emmy
Awards.

Sesame
Street is produced by
Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit organization that uses media to make a difference
in the lives of children around the world.

EXECUTIVE
PRODUCER: Carol-Lynn
Parente at Sesame Workshop

COMMISSIONING
BROADCASTER: PBS in
the U.S.

TV SALES: Sesame Street airs in some form in more than 120
countries. Localized versions of the show have been produced in 39 countries.

MAJOR TOY
LICENSEES: Some of Sesame
Street’s major
licensees include American Greetings, Children's Apparel Network, Fisher Price,
GUND, Nanco, Procter & Gamble/Pampers, Spinmaster, and Vee Corporation.

OTHER
PRODUCTS: Sesame
Workshop has extended its Healthy Habits initiative through licensing
relationships with the Sesame Street characters on the following: Apple and Eve juice;
California Giant strawberries; Del Monte canned vegetables; DS Waters Nursery
water; Earth's Best organic cereal (hot and cold), cookies, crackers, pasta,
snack bars, waffles, and whole grain pizza; Musselman's apple sauce; Stemilt
apples and cherries; and Sunkist citrus fruit. In addition, the company is
launching plush next year for its new character, Abby Cadabby.

STRATEGY
FOR ROLLOUT: Several
generations of children have been entertained by the charming, funny antics of
the Muppets on Sesame Street. Along with the songs and games, children have learned everything
from ABCs and 123s, to good manners and getting along with others, to a myriad
other life lessons appropriate for preschoolers.

The 37th
season of Sesame Street premiered in August. “We create a new show every season and we
build it around a new curriculum,” says Maura Regan, the VP and general manager
of global licensing at Sesame Workshop. “And the curriculum is very topical, we
really respond to the needs of the day and what is happening in the world.”

Given the
current problem with obesity and general health issues, Sesame Street has built its curriculum around
healthy habits for life.

“While
modeling good behavior and good eating habits have always been part and parcel of
Sesame Street, we
thought the time was such that we needed to really call it out in a much bigger
way,” continues Regan.

In line with
this curriculum, Sesame Workshop has done a licensing deal with Del Monte. “We
actually have branded canned vegetables—corn, peas and green beans—with
our characters and they are doing really well,” continues Regan. "We’re
getting amazing testimonials, like 'I couldn’t get my kids to eat vegetables,
and now they do.’”

Sesame
Street has also
introduced a brand-new character, Abby Cadabby, the first new female Muppet to
join the show in more than 13 years. Abby, whose catchphrase is “that’s so
magic,” is a pink “fairy-in-training” who uses rhyme and magic to express
herself. And in typical Muppet fashion, she knows just enough about magic to
get herself in a jam but not always enough to get out of trouble! Sesame
Workshop is currently developing an Abby doll that will be released next year.