Classic Sesame Street episodes removed amidst HBO Max purge
The more you think about it, the stranger the service’s whole post-Warner Bros. Discovery deal’s strategy is. They have such a fantastic lineup of original programming including The Flight Attendant, Hacks, Harley Quinn, and Doom Patrol. That’s without even mentioning all of the HBO originals or the huge backlog of WBTV hits that they have across multiple generations.
So how have they decided to offset all of that? By throwing a good chunk of their reputation straight into the toilet. First, there was the Batgirl debacle. Then, earlier this week they removed a number of shows from their platform, including some of their own originals like Close Enough and Infinity Train. Now comes the news (per Variety) that close to 200 classic Sesame Street episodes are being removed from the platform.
Why in the world would the streaming service do this? It comes down to money. In removing shows from the platform, they no longer have to pay license fees or, in some cases, residuals. That’s why they don’t even care about getting rid of some of their own content. It saves them money, and in the long-term that’s what they seem to care about the most. Because Discovery+ and HBO Max are merging into one solo entity down the road, they think that they’ll have enough programming to handle all of this. That could be true.
However, there’s still no denying that removing Sesame Street episodes in particular feels like a slap in the face to families everywhere. Regardless of whether or not HBO Max wants to be in the family-programming business anymore, you are talking about arguably the most important children’s show in television history. Generations have been educated by these characters over the years! Why do this, all for a tiny bit more money?
Do you think this Sesame Street move, among other things, could hurt HBO Max’s long-term reputation?
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