Sesame Street

Broadcast history

:Main article: Major characters in international versions

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The show is broadcast worldwide; in addition to the U.S. version, many countries have locally produced versions adapted to local needs, some with their own characters, and in a variety of different languages. Broadcasts in Australia began in 1971. In Canada, beginning in 1970, 15-minute shows called Canada's Sesame Street were broadcast, and by 1972 an edited version of the one-hour American program was airing featuring specially filmed Canadian segments. In 1995, the American version was replaced by a half-hour, all-Canadian version of the series entitled Sesame Park. Since the original Sesame Street was still accessible to Canadians, and more familiar, the format change didn't interest with audiences, and was cancelled in 2002. One hundred and twenty countries have aired the show, many of which partnered with Sesame Workshop to create local versions.

Related Topics:
Australia - 1971 - Canada - 1970 - 1972 - 1995 - Sesame Park - 2002

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In recent years, Sesame Street has made what area educators consider to be critical advances in its international versions. In the late 1990s, versions popped up in China and Russia, as these countries shifted away from communism. There is also a joint Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian project, called Sesame Stories, which was created with the goal of promoting greater cultural understanding.

Related Topics:
China - Russia - Israel - Palestinian - Jordan

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The show has also spawned the spin-off series Play with Me Sesame, the "classics" show Sesame Street Unpaved, and the segment-only series Open Sesame. Elmo's World and Global Grover, both segments on Sesame Street, have been distributed as individual series.

Related Topics:
Play with Me Sesame - Sesame Street Unpaved - Open Sesame - Elmo's World - Global Grover

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Funding for season 35 of Sesame Street is provided for the Ready To Learn The No Child Left Behind Act and the U.S. Department of Education, The Public Broadcasting Service, Chuck E. Cheese's, and McDonald's. Major funding for Sesame Street is provided by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by contributions to your PBS station from "Viewers Like You."

Related Topics:
Ready To Learn - Public Broadcasting Service - Chuck E. Cheese's - McDonald's - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting

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Ratings

As a result of its success in revolutionizing the standards of children's television, Sesame Street has inadvertently diminished its own audience share. According to PBS Research, the show has gone from a 2.0 average on Nielsen Media Research's "people meters" in 1995–96 to a 1.3 average in 2000–01. Even with this decrease, Sesame Streets viewership in an average week comes from roughly 5.6 million households with 7.5 million viewers.

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This places Sesame at 8th place in the overall kids' charts, as of 2002. It is actually the second most-watched children's television series for mothers aged 18–49 who have children under the age of 3.

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A format change has recently helped the show's ratings, boosting them up 31% in February 2002 among children aged 2 to 5, in comparison to its ratings in 2001.

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