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{{Short description|American nonprofit organization and children's media producer}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox organization
| image = Sesame Workshop 2018 Logo.svg
| image_size =
| caption =
| alt = Logo for Sesame Workshop, created in 2018 simultaneously. Features the words "SESAME WORKSHOP" (all-caps) in gray inside border lines of yellow on the top and green on the bottom that together form a shape similar to the "Sesame Street" sign.
| formerly = Children's Television Workshop (CTW) (1968–2000)
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| leader_name = [[Sherrie Rollins Westin|Sherrie Westin]]
| leader_title2 = [[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]]
| leader_name2 =
| leader_title3 =
| leader_name3 =
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}}
'''Sesame Workshop, Inc.''' ('''SW'''), originally known as the '''Children's Television Workshop, Inc.''' ('''CTW'''), is an American [[nonprofit organization]] that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-known, ''[[Sesame Street]]''—that have been televised internationally. Television producer [[Joan Ganz Cooney]] and foundation executive [[Lloyd Morrisett]] developed the idea to form an organization to produce ''Sesame Street'', a television series which would help children, especially those from low-income families, prepare for school. They spent two years, from 1966 to 1968, researching, developing, and raising money for the new series. Cooney was named as the Workshop's first executive director, which was termed "one of the most important television developments of the decade."<ref name="davis125126" />
''Sesame Street'' premiered on [[National Educational Television]] (NET) as a series run in the United States on November 10, 1969, and moved to NET's successor, the Public Broadcasting Service ([[PBS]]), in late 1970. The Workshop was formally incorporated in 1970. [[Gerald S. Lesser]] and [[Edward L. Palmer]] were hired to perform research for the series; they were responsible for developing a system of planning, production, and evaluation, and the interaction between television producers and educators, later termed the "CTW model". The CTW applied this system to its other television series, including ''[[The Electric Company]]'' and ''[[3-2-1 Contact]]''. The early 1980s were a challenging period for the Workshop; difficulty finding audiences for their other productions and a series of bad investments harmed the organization until licensing agreements stabilized its revenues by 1985.
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[[File:Sesame Workshop text logo.png|thumb|right|alt=Green wording spelling out "sesameworkshop" in lower case letters|Sesame Workshop wordmark used from 2000 to 2018.|272x272px]]
The 2008–2009 recession, which resulted in budget reductions for many nonprofit arts organizations, severely affected the organization; in 2009, it had to dismiss 20% of its staff.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Guernsey |first1=Lisa |title=How Sesame Street Changed the World |url=https://www.newsweek.com/how-sesame-street-changed-world-80067 |access-date=22 November 2019 |work=Newsweek |date=22 May 2009 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210010326/https://www.newsweek.com/how-sesame-street-changed-world-80067 |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite earning about $100 million from licensing revenue, royalties, and foundation and government funding in 2012, the Workshop's total revenue was down 15% and its operating loss doubled to $24.3 million. In 2013, it responded by dismissing 10% of its staff, saying that it was necessary to "strategically focus" their resources because of "today's rapidly changing digital environment".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Isidore |first1=Chris |title=Layoffs hit Sesame Street |url=https://money.cnn.com/2013/06/26/news/companies/sesame-street-layoff/ |access-date=22 November 2019 |work=CNN Money. |date=26 June 2013 |archive-date=23 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123005027/https://money.cnn.com/2013/06/26/news/companies/sesame-street-layoff/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, Knell left Sesame Workshop to become the chief executive of [[NPR|National Public Radio]] (NPR).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kahana |first1=Menahem |title=Gary Knell named chief of NPR |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/media/story/2011-10-02/npr-new-ceo/50637472/1 |access-date=22 November 2019 |work=USA Today |date=2 October 2011 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305064833/http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/story/2011-10-02/npr-new-ceo/50637472/1 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[H. Melvin Ming]], who had been the organization's chief financial officer since 1999 and chief operating officer since 2002, was named as his replacement.<ref>{{cite press release |last=Westin |first= Sherrie |date= 3 October 2011 |title= Sesame Workshop Appoints H. Melvin Ming as President and CEO |url=http://www.sesameworkshop.org/newsandevents/pressreleaes/mel_ming_ceo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226173204/http://www.sesameworkshop.org/newsandevents/pressreleaes/mel_ming_ceo |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 December 2011 |location= New York |publisher= Sesame Workshop |access-date= 22 November 2019}}</ref> In 2014, H. Melvin Ming retired and was succeeded by former HIT Entertainment and Nickelodeon executive [[Jeffrey D. Dunn|Jeffery D. Dunn]]. Dunn's appointment was the first time someone not affiliated with CTW or Sesame Workshop became its manager, although he had associations with the organization previously.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jensen|first1=Elizabeth|title=Jeffrey D. Dunn Named Chief of Sesame Workshop|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/business/media/jeffrey-d-dunn-named-chief-of-sesame-workshop.html?_r=1|access-date=22 November 2019|work=The New York Times|date=8 September 2014|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308233517/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/business/media/jeffrey-d-dunn-named-chief-of-sesame-workshop.html?_r=1|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, Dunn retired and was replaced by [[Sherrie Rollins Westin]], who had served as president of SW's Social Impact and Philanthropy Division for six years.<ref>{{cite press release |last1=Fishman |first1= Lizzie |last2=Greenberg| first2= Courtney |date= 27 October 2020 |title= Sesame Workshop Announces Leadership Transition, Effective January 1, 2021 |url= https://www.sesameworkshop.org/press-room/press-releases/sesame-workshop-announces-leadership-transition-effective-january-1-2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417015333/https://www.sesameworkshop.org/press-room/press-releases/sesame-workshop-announces-leadership-transition-effective-january-1-2021 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |location= New York |publisher= Sesame Workshop |access-date= 1 January 2022}}</ref>
In 2019, ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' reported that Sesame Workshop's operating income was approximately $1.6 million, after the majority of its funds earned from grants, licensing deals, and royalties went back into its content, its total operating costs were over $100 million per year. Operating costs included salaries, $6 million in rent for its [[Lincoln Center]] corporate offices, its production facilities in Queens, and the costs of producing content for its YouTube channels and other outlets. The organization employed about 400 people, including "several highly skilled puppeteers". Royalties and distribution fees, which accounted for $52.9 million in 2018, made up the Workshop's biggest revenue source. Donations brought in $47.8 million, or 31 percent of its income. Licensing revenue from games, toys, and clothing earned the organization $4.5 million.<ref name="guthrie2">{{cite news |last1=Guthrie |first1=Marisa |title=Where 'Sesame Street' Gets Its Funding — and How It Nearly Went Broke |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sesame-street-gets-funding-how-it-went-broke-1183032 |access-date=20 April 2019 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=6 February 2019 |archive-date=18 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418223110/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sesame-street-gets-funding-how-it-went-broke-1183032 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Funding sources ==
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* [http://ebooks.sesamestreet.org/ Sesame Street Ebookstore website]
* [https://archives.lib.umd.edu/repositories/2/resources/1573 Children's Television Workshop records] at the [[University of Maryland Libraries]]
* {{Muppets}}
{{Sesame Workshop series}}
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