PBS adds shortened 30-minute ‘Sesame Street’ to schedule

Like so many classic works, from “War and Peace” to “Great Expectations,” “Sesame Street” is now getting an abridged version.

PBS and Sesame Workshop announced Wednesday it will be adding a shortened, 30-minute version of the long-running educational program to its on-air schedule and digital platforms beginning Sept. 1.

It will air weekday afternoons, with a select number also available to watch via the PBS Kids website, video app and Roku channel.

But “Sesame Street” purists need not fret: The full, one-hour version of the show will continue to air weekday mornings.

The goal of adding the truncated version of “Sesame Street” to its lineup, said PBS, is to expand the program’s digital reach.

“With this new half-hour program, we are excited to build on ‘Sesame Street’s’ 45-year legacy on PBS with a format that will make the series more accessible on mobile devices, where PBS Kids’ reach is growing exponentially,” said Lesli Rotenberg, general manager of children’s programming at PBS, in a news release, citing a 34% increase in use of the PBS Kids video app over the last year.

Each half-hour episode of “Sesame Street” will include a “Street Story,” a “Word on the Street” segment, a celebrity vocabulary segment, songs, spoofs and other popular recurring features.

“Sesame Street” premiered in 1969 and is currently celebrating its 45th season.

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