From The Heritage Foundation, I’m Ernest Istook.
To hear the outcry, you’d think that Sesame Street’s Big Bird was an endangered species.
But he’s flourishing and doesn’t need taxpayer money. Big Bird is Big Business and Big Bucks. His parent company, Sesame Workshop, reports its net worth is $356-million. $130-million of that is ready cash, just being invested in securities. Royalties alone bring in $47-million a year,from selling half a billion dollars worth of merchandise–clothing, music, DVD’s, children’s shampoo, dolls, you name it.
Sesame Street is one of America’s top ten entertainment franchises, up there with Peanuts and just behind Toy Story, but well ahead of Spiderman, Barbie, SpongeBob and Angry Birds.
Once public TV filled a gap where there was nothing else. Now they’re just one among many cable and Internet outlets. Except the others don’t expect handouts from taxpayers.
From The Heritage Foundation, I’m Ernest Istook.
