When Did Sesame Street Start?

Sesame Street is a very popular television show aired all over the world. It is produced and filmed in the U.S. by PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service. Jim Henson created the show's pilot and was the Muppets creator. He was inspired to provide educational entertainment or edutainment for young kids. Sesame Street is a show where puppets and human actors interact.

This well-loved educational TV program premiered on November 10, 1969.  During this time, there were a few organizations which chose not to support the use of television to educate or enhance a child’s understanding of subjects. Carnegie Institute recruited Joan Ganz Cooney to conduct a study focusing on the effects of television on the education of children from low-income families.

Based on the study's findings, a proposal was created regarding the use of animated programs to enhance a student’s knowledge. Based on the proposal, the institution awarded Cooney an $8 million grant to develop an educational TV series for young U.S. children. Cooney, together with Lloyd Morrisett, VP of the Carnegie Institute founded the Children’s Television Workshop.

Creation of Sesame Street  

After the non-profit organization was established, Cooney then hired several producers to help create the children’s TV series. Those who were hired included Jon Stone, Sam Gibbon, and Dave Connell. To help producers develop the show, they participated in seminars that dealt with child psychology, preschool education, and child development.

At the beginning, the children’s program was called the Preschool Educational Television Show. It was only several days before the series premier when the title Sesame Street was coined. Xerox provided a $50,000 grant to launch the premier episode of the show.

Sesame Streets Debut

The official TV debut of the program took place in 1969. Finally, the whole world was introduced to those lovable puppets including:

• Bert
• Ernie
• Big Bird

They were also introduced to friendly neighbors like:

• Bob
• Mr. Hooper
• Maria
• Gordon
• Susan

The show was initially aired on National Education Television (NET). Then after a few months, NET had merged with PBS, a local station. PBS picked up Sesame Street, which was one of its top shows.

Changes to Sesame Street

Since its first airing, Sesame Street has undergone many changes in its lineup. A new group of adorable Muppets has been introduced and children continue to fall in love with new friends such as:

• Elmo
• Kermit the Frog
• Cookie Monster
• Frazzle
• Oscar the Grouch

Decades after its premiere, Sesame Street began to face economic and societal challenges, as well as changes in the young audience’s viewing habits. The show had to cope with the growing popularity of cable shows, competition from similar programs, and a significant drop in the show’s ratings.

The show decided to implement major changes in its structure including transforming the traditional magazine format into a narrative one. In addition, riding on the increasing popularity of Elmo, the show developed a segment entitled “Elmo’s World."

Despite the popularity of Elmo, due to economic constraints in 2009, only 26 episodes were produced. When the program originally aired in 1969, the show was able to produce 130 episodes per year.

Also in 2009, the Children’s Television Workshop changed its name to SW or Sesame Workshop. Furthermore, in an attempt to keep abreast of the digital age, the show also launched a website where a library with free podcasts and video clips from the show’s entire history was made available.

Sesame Street's Accolades

When Sesame Street reached its 40th anniversary, the show was already ranked as the 15th most popular children’s TV series. The U.S. State Department called the show "the most widely viewed children's television show in the world" in 2006. Finally, aside from their countless Emmy Awards in its 40-year run, the show has also won 8 Grammys –more than any other children’s program.

Sesame Street is one of the longest running children’s programs in history. It has won several Emmy awards for being the “Most Outstanding Pre-school Series.” Children worldwide have learned and have been entertained by this iconic program.