'Sesame Street' and HBO ink five-year deal

"Sesame Street" and HBO have inked a five-year deal to show the children's classic on the premium cable network.

Older episodes will continue to run on public television, but new episodes will show first on HBO for nine months before making their way to the public airways, according to NBC News.

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that produces the show, said it will increase the number of episodes it produces, from 18 per year to 35, and create a "Sesame Street" spin-off about the Muppets. Episodes also will be shortened to a half-hour from an hour.

Read more from NBC News.