I wonder if that pledge drive special will be an alternate edit of the special we know about (like how Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration was a re-edited version of 25 Wonderful Years: A Musical Celebration for pledge drive season). Either way, I guess this will be the first new Sesame Street pledge drive special since their 25th anniversary.
I had been hoping there would be a special DVD release for the 50th anniversary, similar to 40 Years of Sunny Days, but now if we're getting two anniversary television specials, it might be overkill to have three DVDs for the anniversary. Of course it's never been said, hinted, or implied that there would be a DVD, and it's never been confirmed or anything that the television specials would get a DVD release. Of course they could release the two specials together on DVD, maybe as a "double feature" or with one as a bonus feature (and/or maybe a big selection of full bonus clips).