Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the children’s television show “Sesame Street,” has sued SeaWorld’s parent company, accusing the theme park operator of breaching a licensing agreement to promote the brand.
In a complaint filed on March 12 in federal court in New York, Sesame Workshop described SeaWorld’s conduct as an “imminent threat” to the Sesame Street brand and asked a judge to terminate its deal with SeaWorld Entertainment, which rebranded in 2024 as United Parks & Resorts.
The business relationship between the two organizations dates back to 1980, when Sesame Workshop and SeaWorld’s predecessor worked together to open the first standalone Sesame Street theme park, Sesame Place, in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Over the decades, the two parties collaborated on parks and attractions, with their most recent licensing agreement finalized in 2017.
According to the complaint, the relationship began to unravel in 2022, when SeaWorld refused to pay Sesame Workshop millions of dollars in royalties tied to the Langhorne park’s operations. The dispute went to arbitration, where a panel found SeaWorld had breached the 2017 agreement and awarded Sesame Workshop the full amount it was owed.
Sesame Workshop said it did not receive payment until 2025, and only after seeking court enforcement of the arbitration award in 2024. Even after the court ordered SeaWorld to pay, the company allegedly “dragged its feet in finally making payment” until Sesame filed a motion seeking writs of garnishment, according to the complaint.
Sesame Workshop now alleges that United Parks still has not paid other royalties owed under the agreement, including payments related to Sesame-themed operations in Langhorne and San Diego, as well as licensing fees and revenue from Sesame Land-branded products.
The complaint also took issue with what it described as the “sudden closure” of Sesame Place San Diego. In September 2025, the same day the court issued writs of garnishment, United Parks announced that the San Diego park would shift to a seasonal operating schedule. The park closed for the year just days later.
Sesame further alleges that SeaWorld failed to make payments required after abandoning plans to open a third standalone Sesame Place park, also in violation of the 2017 agreement.
According to the complaint, SeaWorld has cast itself as the injured party, arguing that Sesame Workshop weakened the brand by failing to renew its distribution agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery for new Sesame Street episodes on HBO Max. Sesame rejected that claim, saying there was “no consumer impact on access to Sesame Street.”
In the lawsuit, Sesame is seeking a declaratory judgment that it did not breach the agreement, that SeaWorld did breach it, and that Sesame is entitled to terminate the 2017 licensing deal. The nonprofit is also seeking termination fees it says it is owed.
“We are aware of the lawsuit filed by Sesame Workshop and look forward to setting the record straight in court,” a United Parks spokesperson said in response to a request for comment.
Last May, Sesame Street signed a deal with Netflix to stream its content after HBO Max ended its streaming partnership with the show.
