Sesame Workshop is losing its chief marketer of five years, Samantha Maltin, in a rare executive leadership change, the company confirmed to Business Insider.
Maltin, who was named to the role in 2019 and appeared on Business Insider’s CMOs to Watch list in 2021, was only the second CMO in Sesame Workshop’s 50-year history. She left for a new role at St. Jude in Memphis, Tennessee, two people familiar with the matter said. Her departure has not been externally announced.
Maltin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s the second big change this year at the nonprofit after it named a new CEO in Sherrie Westin, who had been president since 2021. It also comes at a time of transformation. Long-running “Sesame Street” is getting ready to roll out its biggest format change since 2016, when the show went to 30 minutes from one hour. Starting in 2025, the program will trade its longstanding “magazine”-style format for two 11-minute narrative-driven segments and a new animated series, “Tales From 123.”
The revamped show could also have a new home. “Sesame Street’s” five-year rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery‘s streaming service Max will end at the same time as the new show is set to roll out. In 2022, HBO Max (now Max) grabbed headlines when it yanked about 200 older episodes of “Sesame Street” as part of a larger cost-cutting move. Sesame Workshop is in the midst of negotiations with distributors for the show.
With beloved IP that appeals to multiple generations, “Sesame Street” could be attractive to other streamers eager for tried-and-true content. It could find multiple licensing partners, which is becoming more common as studios move away from the days of selling their content outright to Netflix and other streamers. Episodes also air on PBS after a delay, an arrangement that’s likely to continue.
Traditional kids’ TV and movies face headwinds, however, as children increasingly prefer homegrown shows on YouTube. Profit pressures also have media companies pulling back on developing content for kids.
Maltin previously worked at Schireson, a data science strategy firm — which has since joined the advertising company Known — that gave her an advantage in working with Sesame’s chief technology officer on data strategy. Maltin is an alum of A+E Networks, Nickelodeon, and Viacom.
She also helped create a “Sesame Street” brand image celebrating its 50th anniversary.
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