By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --The Muppets, longtime residents of PBS, are getting a second home at HBO.
The premium cable channel and Sesame Workshop, which produces "Sesame Street," on Thursday announced a five-year deal that will expand the "Sesame Street" footprint and its amount of programming.
The next five seasons of the respected children's series will be available on HBO and its related platforms, including HBO GO and HBO On Demand. The deal will allow the Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational organization, to produce almost double the content of previous seasons, HBO and the workshop said.
New episodes will go to HBO first, with PBS stations getting the episodes for free but to rerun nine months later. There won't be any interruption for "Sesame Street" on PBS, with the current season airing until new shows become available.
"Our new partnership with HBO represents a true winning public-private partnership model," said Jeffrey D. Dunn, Sesame Workshop's CEO. He said it provides his organization with "critical funding" to continue producing the show and airing it on PBS, its home for 45 years.
Besides "Sesame Street," the workshop will make a Muppets spinoff series and a new original educational series for children. HBO said it also has licensed more than 150 past episodes of "Sesame Street."
Joan Ganz Cooney, co-founder of the series, said she has "long admired the creative work of HBO and can't think of a better partner to continue the quality of 'Sesame Street's' programming." She noted there have been dramatic changes in the way children consume video and the economics of the kids' TV business, and said Sesame Workshop must "adapt to the times."
The move by HBO reflects another reality: Fledgling TV competitors such as Amazon and Netflix are making their own forays into children's programming as part of their streaming services.
The new episodes will begin airing as early as fall 2015, with HBO the exclusive, first-run subscription TV distribution partner for "Sesame Street" and the new series, in both English and Spanish.
In addition to Sesame Street, HBO will also license about 50 past episodes of "Pinky Dinky Doo," an animated series for preschoolers with a focus on early literacy, and "The Electric Company," which relaunched in 2009, from Sesame Workshop.
Mike Pierantozzi joins Movers+Shakers as exec creative director
Creative agency Movers+Shakers has appointed Mike Pierantozzi as executive creative director. In this new role, he will help guide the creative direction of Movers+Shakers’ socially-native campaigns. Pierantozzi will report to co-founder and chief creative officer Geoffrey Goldberg.
With nearly two decades of experience as a copywriter, creative director, and multi-platform storyteller, Pierantozzi brings a wealth of knowledge from his work with major brands including Kraft, Unilever, IBM, and Walmart. He has led the creation of award-winning campaigns for agencies like Red Tettemer, Ogilvy, The Brooklyn Brothers, TAXI, Saatchi & Saatchi, and most recently, Vayner, where he spearheaded culturally iconic work for Planters including “Death of Mr. Peanut.” He led the National Down Syndrome Society and Luvs account, whose “First Kid. Second Kid” campaign was awarded by the Effies, ADC, Clios and LIAs.
Outside of the office, Pierantozzi practices what he teaches brands. He’s gone viral multiple times on his own TikTok account, featuring comedic interactions with his son and a trombone. He’s accumulated 15K followers on TikTok.
“Mike brings a rare and awesome combination of deep social and platform experience, a keen eye for excellent storytelling, and a humble and kind approach to leadership,” said Goldberg. “Mike’s got a knack for turning brand stories into cultural movements, making him the perfect fit for Movers+Shakers. He’s got the kind of bold vision and attention to culture that fits perfectly with our mission to push creative boundaries and drive industry firsts. Plus, as a creator himself he has the innate ability to make people stop, laugh, and share--which is exactly what we’re about.”
“I’ve... Read More