Sesame Workshop: Difference between revisions

After ''Sesame Street''{{'}}s initial success, the CTW began to think about its survival beyond the development and first season of the show, since its funding sources were composed of organizations and institutions that tended to start projects, not sustain them.<ref name="davis-203">Davis, p. 203</ref> Although the organization was what Cooney termed "the darling of the federal government for a brief period of two or three years",<ref>Davis, p. 218</ref> its first ten years of existence was marked by conflicts between the two; in 1978, the [[US Department of Education]] refused to deliver a $2 million check until the last day of the CTW's fiscal year.<ref>O'Dell, p. 73</ref> According to Davis, the federal government was opposed to funding public television, but the Workshop used Cooney's prestige and fame, and the fact that there would be "great public outcry"<ref name="wershba-6" /> if the series was de-funded, to withstand the government's attacks on PBS. Eventually, the CTW got its own line item in the federal budget.<ref>Davis, pp. 218–219</ref> By 2019, the U.S. government donated about four percent of the Workshop's budget, or less than $5 million a year.<ref name="guthrie2"/>

 

 

For the first time, a public broadcasting series had the potential to earn a great deal of money. Immediately after its premiere, ''Sesame Street ''gained attention from marketers,<ref name="davis-203" /> so the Workshop explored sources such as licensing arrangements, publishing, and international sales, and became, as Cooney envisioned, a "multiple media institution".<ref name="cherow-197">Cherow-O'Leary in Fisch & Truglio, p. 197</ref> Licensing became the foundation of, as writer Louise Gikow stated, the Sesame Workshop endowment,<ref name="gikow-268">Gikow, p. 268</ref> which had the potential to fund the organization and future productions and projects.<ref name="davis-205" /> Muppet creator [[Jim Henson]] owned the trademarks to the [[List of Sesame Street Muppets|Muppet characters]]: he was reluctant to market them at first, but agreed when the CTW promised that the profits from toys, books, and other products were to be used exclusively to fund the CTW. The producers demanded complete control of all products and product decisions throughout its history; any product line associated with the series had to be educational, inexpensive, and not advertised during broadcastings of ''Sesame Street''.<ref>Davis, pp. 203–205</ref> As Davis reported, "Cooney stressed restraint, prudence, and caution" in their marketing and licensing efforts.<ref>Davis, p. 204</ref> In the early 1970s, the CTW negotiated with [[Random House]] to establish and manage a non-broadcast materials division. Random House and the CTW named [[Christopher Cerf (musician and television producer)|Christopher Cerf]] to assist the CTW in publishing books and other materials that emphasized the series' curriculum.<ref name="davis-205">Davis, p. 205</ref> By 2019, the Sesame Workshop had over 500 licensing agreements, and its total revenue in 2018 was $35 million. A million children play with ''Sesame Street''-themed toys per day.<ref name="wallace"/><ref name="guthrie"/>