‘Sesame Street’ bustling even after 45 years

NEW YORK – You don’t get to be the longest-running children’s show in TV history by doing the same thing over and over. So even though parents who grew up watching “Sesame Street” can still see old favorites like Big Bird, things on the street have changed since the show debuted 45 years ago, on Nov. 10, 1969.

Cookie Monster now exercises self-control and sometimes eats fruits and vegetables. Millions of kids watch the show on phones and computers instead of TV. And there’s less time spent on the street with human characters. They’re just not energetic enough for today’s viewers.

That “Sesame Street” still exists at all says a lot. In 1973, it was one of two TV shows for preschoolers. Now it’s competing with 84 kids’ shows on TV and countless others online. Yet “Sesame Street” still holds its own, ranking 20th among kids ages 2 to 5 with 850,000 viewers per TV episode, according to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind the show. But now half the viewers watch it in digital formats: Sesame Street.org, PBSKids.org, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and some 50 apps.

“Sesame Street” also has the highest “co-viewing” experience – meaning adults watching with kids – of any preschool show: 49 percent of “Sesame Street” viewers are over age 18.

That’s why sketches often have contemporary celebrity guests or pop culture references that 2-year-olds don’t get, but adults do.

Parents whose kids watch old episodes may be puzzled by warnings that the material may be inappropriate for today’s children. But remember “Monsterpiece Theater,” a parody of PBS’ “Masterpiece Theater”? Back in the day, Cookie Monster hosted the show as Alistair Cookie, and he had a pipe, imitating the real show’s human host Alistair Cooke. Cookie Monster gobbled the pipe up rather than smoking it, but any reference to smoking is now unacceptable.

The music has changed too. Those memorable lyrics, “Sunny day, sweepin’ the clouds away, on my way to where the air is sweet,” still open every episode, but now the song has a syncopated, jazzier beat. Other sketches feature hip-hop or Latin music.

Not all of today’s parents love “Sesame Street.” Some say it simply doesn’t keep their kids’ attention. Daphne Mallory, a mother of four in Twin Falls, Idaho, grew up watching “Sesame Street” but says her four children don’t. “It lost its relevance,” she said. “It’s geared toward engaging the parents watching the program with their children, rather than truly educating the children.”

But Lori Chajet, of Brooklyn, New York, says her daughters, now 7 and 10, loved it – including old episodes they got on tape.

“Little kids learn from it,” said her 7-year-old daughter Sasha, “but they really have a really fun time watching it.”