Sesame Street Isn’t Gone—Here’s How to Get There
Wondering where Sesame Street is?
Sesame Street has been in the news a lot lately as it briefly lost and regained funding. But have no fear—it’s back on the air, and it’s easy to find new episodes.
Sesame Street has been delighting kids and their families since 1969. When I was a kid, there was one way to watch it: turn the TV to channel 11 and hope it was on. (Even if it wasn’t, there was usually Arthur, Dragon Tales, or Cyberchase, so I was fine regardless.)
But kids today have a lot more options. You can watch most episodes on demand, whenever you want—if you know where to look.
I’d recommend different services based on the kind of Sesame Street content you’d like to watch. So scroll down until you find the heading that best matches your situation! I’ll do my best to be brief so you can get right to watching the show.
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I want to watch new Sesame Street episodes for free!
PBS Kids is your best bet! You can watch dozens of the latest Sesame Street episodes on the PBS Kids website. The episodes are free to watch with limited ads from PBS’s sponsors, like Google and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. They’re great if you just want to sit down and watch some new episodes on any device, without having to log in to anything.
You can also play lots of fun Sesame Street games, like Supermarket Challenge, Field Day Fun, and Nature Explorers.
If you’d like more free Sesame Street content, there are certain clips and full episodes on Sesame Street’s YouTube channel. We love how much Sesame Street is available to the public for free, but parents, remember to supervise your kids if they’re watching content on YouTube. The content there isn’t vetted the way kids’ sections on streaming services like Netflix are. Even on YouTube Kids, it’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole of videos and end up with content you weren’t expecting.
I know it can be tempting to pop YouTube on and walk away—but if you need some distraction-free entertainment quickly, I’d recommend PBS Kids or a traditional streaming service before YouTube. Make YouTube something you and your kids watch together!
I want to watch Sesame Street live on my TV!
You’ll want to turn your TV to PBS. PBS comes with pretty much all cable and satellite TV plans, or you could watch it with an antenna. You also have access to PBS if you have YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, or live TV streaming with DIRECTV. (Our experts’ favorite live TV option is YouTube TV, but feel free to look around and find the service that works for you.)
Depending on where you live and what service you’re using, PBS will be a different station. We’ve compiled a list of some of the biggest U.S. cities if you’d like to check for PBS’s channel number in your location. (We know it’s a big chart! Kids, if you have trouble reading it, ask a parent or guardian for help.)
Sesame Street airs during the PBS Kids block in the morning—usually around 10 a.m. ET. But if you miss watching it live, you still have a lot of other options.
I want to watch new Sesame Street episodes on demand!
If you just want to play new Sesame Street episodes on a regular streaming service, you’ll want Netflix. Netflix carries every new Sesame Street episode beginning with Season 56. Sesame Street is rated TV-Y, so it should be available on all profiles unless you’ve blocked the title specifically.
If you’re watching during the holiday season, you might also want to watch Sesame Street: The Nutcracker. It’s a fun, animated reimagining of The Nutcracker starring Elmo and his dog Tango.
I want to watch old Sesame Street episodes on demand!
HBO Max owned the streaming rights to new Sesame Street episodes before Netflix bought them. That means that HBO Max is still streaming old episodes from seasons 1–55. If things go as planned, these episodes will stay on HBO Max through 2027. So you don’t have to worry about them disappearing for the time being! When they finally expire, we expect they’ll end up on Netflix, too.
Sesame Street FAQ
Is Sesame Street on any streaming service?
Yes, you can watch old Sesame Street episodes on HBO Max and new Sesame Street episodes on Netflix.
Where can I watch all Sesame Street episodes?
HBO Max still has the rights to all old Sesame Street episodes through 2027. It carries seasons 1–55, but seasons 56 and beyond will be on Netflix. You can also watch select episodes and clips on the Sesame Street YouTube channel.
Will Sesame Street still be free?
Yes, Sesame Street is still free to watch, even though it's also on Netflix. You can find free episodes on the PBS Kids website and app, or by tuning into PBS Kids on your TV.
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Here at CableTV.com, we’re committed to answering the tough questions. With the rise of so many competing streaming services and TV packages, it can be hard to know where to find your favorite shows from yesteryear. That’s where we come in: Our team of experts is here to guide you straight to the answers you need. So you can get back to relaxing in front of your TV.
