The next generation of Kiwi kids will grow up without knowing who Bert and Ernie are, why Oscar is such a grouch or how ticklish Elmo is.

Yes, Sesame Street could be gone for good from New Zealand television.

Sesame Street is a favourite with Kiwi kids, but no major television networks want to pick it up.

The beloved educational children's show, which first aired in the US in 1969, disappeared from New Zealand television screens last weekend after Mediaworks' channel FOUR was decommissioned and replaced with reality channel Bravo.

Mediaworks confirmed then that Sesame Street did not feature in its plans for the future.

Now New Zealand's two other major television providers have also confirmed they have no plans to pick up the show.

SKY Television spokesperson Kirsty Way says the network would not be broadcasting Sesame Street in the immediate future.

The network bought its children's programming as whole channels rather than as individual programmes.

A TVNZ spokesperson says the company currently had no plans to acquire Sesame Street.

Stuff reports Sesame Street has become more expensive to buy in after it was bought by the HBO network in January this year. For the past 46 years, it has broadcast on the US public network PBS, but the deal with PBS only covered 10 per cent of the show's costs and the once-lucrative DVD/video market has begun to dry up.

TVNZ says it would continue to provide preschool and children's programming free-to-air on TV2 and on demand at Kidzone. But they have also cut back on kids' content, with Kidzone's Sky channel ending on April 30 and switching to online after Sky chose not to renew the deal.

- Stuff

Who is your favourite Sesame Street character?