I remember when Sesame Street first came on the air. I was four years old, and my mother had me and my brothers watch the program, which had been widely promoted to parents with pre-schoolers. So the Sesame Street I remember was the pre-commercialized, pre-Elmo original.
At this point in my life, I don't really care about the changes that have occurred in the show since, though I have been struck by the backlash against the show's deal with HBO to air its episodes first on the premium cable channel. Yes, such a move does seem to go against the original spirit and purpose of the program, and anyone with nostalgia for the older episodes is unlikely to approve of the program's evolution.
I read with some amusement James Poniewozik's review in The New York Times of the newest episodes of Sesame Street, those which are appearing first on HBO. I was particularly struck by his description of Oscar the Grouch's appearance in the new episodes:
He belongs to another time; no pedagogical theory would propose him now, no earnest producer could pitch him. He is unprettiable, irredeemable, hanging on to his battered garbage can like the last rent-controlled tenant in a fancy co-op building.
Poniewozik complained about the gentrification of Sesame Street, and he is undoubtedly correct to point out that a program that was intended to improve the learning skills of young children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, "is now, like air travel, one more tiered experience."