Bought by the Letters GONE: The content purge at HBO Max continues as the streaming platform pulls around 200 older episodes of the classic kids’ show “Sesame Street.”
HBO Max’s removal of “Sesame Street” episodes and other recent content appears to be part of new owner Warner Bros.’ belt-tightening measures. Discovery, aimed at reducing payment obligations for streaming content.
As of Friday, HBO Max listed 456 total episodes of “Sesame Street,” with a selection from seasons 1, 5, and 7 and the full lineup from past seasons 39-52. Of these, only 29 are from the early seasons. Previously, the streaming service offered about 650 total episodes of “Sesame Street,” including episodes from seasons 2 through 4, season 6, and those from every season between 8 and 35.
Representatives of Warner Bros. Discovery and Sesame Workshop did not respond to requests for comment.
HBO and Sesame Workshop first struck a deal in 2015, providing a new revenue stream for “Sesame Street,” while granting HBO the right to air new episodes of the landmark series before they appear on its home screen. longtime, PBS. Their current deal keeps “Sesame Street” on HBO Max through 2025.
Still available for now on HBO Max, in addition to the remaining episodes of the “Sesame Street” series, are the 10 episode “Sesame Street Mecha Builders”, seven seasons of “My Sesame Street Friends”, and “The Magical Wand Chase”. . with Elmo and Abby.
The removal of “Sesame Street” episodes comes after HBO Max announced on Wednesday that at least 36 other titles will be leaving the service this week. This includes 20 original HBO Max shows, including teen drama “Generation,” animated anthology series “Infinity Train,” and kids’ show “Summer Camp Island,” as well as several “Sesame Street” specials. This is in addition to previously announced titles releasing from HBO Max this month, including the original eight “Harry Potter” films.
Warner Bros. Discovery said the decision to pull the titles from HBO Max was tied to the platform’s pending combo with Discovery+. “As we strive to bring our catalogs of content together on one platform, we will be making changes to the content offering available on both HBO Max and Discovery+,” the company said in a statement. “This will include the removal of certain content from both platforms.”
Over the past few weeks, HBO Max has also quietly pulled six films from Warner Bros. and HBO shows such as “Camping,” “Vinyl,” “Mrs. Fletcher,” and “Run.” Under Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO Max also recently killed Greg Berlanti’s “Strange Adventures” DC series. and a “Wonder Twins” live-action movie.