TVNZ knows how to get more Sesame Street
A generation of Kiwi kids has been saved from a childhood bereft of Bert, Ernie, Big Bird and Elmo.
That’s right: Sesame Street is back. The beloved children’s show has been acquired by TVNZ, who will screen it from September 12.
Sesame Street, which began back in 1969, was cut from New Zealand television when Mediaworks replaced FOUR with Bravo.
It was one of a host of children’s shows cut in the reprogramming. The changes outraged some parents, including New Plymouth mum Kerry Peacock, who started a petition asking Mediaworks to bring back its children’s programming.
The petition accrued more than 8000 signatures online before it was presented to Mediaworks.
Yesterday, a TVNZ spokesperson confirmed that Sesame Street would debut on TV2 at 6.30am on September 12, and would air on subsequent weekday mornings at 6.30. The show will also be available to view on TVNZ OnDemand.
Sesame Street is understood to be an expensive show for TV networks to acquire, especially since it was bought by American subscriber network HBO in January.
TVNZ was unable to say how much it had paid for the show due to commercial sensitivity.
‘‘This is a show that there’s a lot of love for and we’re delighted to be bringing it to New Zealanders,’’ the spokesperson said.
‘‘High quality local and international children’s content is part of keeping our littlest viewers happy.’’
The acquisition is an about-face for the network, which said in July it had no plans to acquire the show.