The original “Elmo’s World” joined “Sesame Street” at a time when the show, which was first broadcast in 1969 to prepare underserved children for school, had begun attracting a much younger audience, including many under 2. Though television time for them should be strictly limited, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the show’s producers felt obliged to cater to the very young and their attention span by adding the shorter “Elmo’s World.” Still, “we were depressed by the statistics about how young the audience had gotten,” Ms. Parente said. “The curriculum was not designed for that.”
In Season 40 Sesame Workshop made a conscious effort to lure back older preschoolers who had deemed the show too babyish. It was a success: the 3-year-old audience rose 41 percent that year; 4-year-olds increased 4 percent; and the 5-year-olds, 21 percent. That left “Elmo’s World” as the show’s youngest-skewing element, which should change with “Elmo the Musical,” although producers are hopeful the younger set will still enjoy Elmo’s escapades even if they don’t follow the math.