Which nonprofit organization produces Sesame Street?

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit organization that produces Sesame Street.

The organization was founded in 1968 as the Children’s Television Workshop specifically to develop and produce Sesame Street. Its unusual production model brought television professionals, educators, child-development specialists, and researchers together so that entertainment and curriculum could be planned as one process.

Sesame Street premiered in 1969 and became the Workshop’s best-known production, but the organization has also created international co-productions and other educational programs. Those international versions adapt the show’s characters, settings, languages, and lessons to the needs of local children rather than simply dubbing every episode.

The name changed to Sesame Workshop on June 5, 2000. The new name reflected work beyond conventional television, including interactive media, digital learning, and broader educational initiatives. PBS and PBS Kids have distributed or aired Sesame Street in the United States, but they are not the nonprofit organization that produces it. The Jim Henson Company contributed the Muppets and production expertise, but it is also not the show’s nonprofit producer.