Steve Burns Sets New Record with Live Reading
In an impressive record-breaking endeavor, Steve Burns, the beloved former host of “Blue’s Clues,” kicked off the year at the Ritzi Goddard School in Manhattan. He set a new Guinness World Record for the highest number of viewers tuning in to a live reading session.
Burns read “Curious Blueberry The Carousel Horse” to a group of 17 preschoolers at a Stuytown classroom. This endeavor was part of a larger effort, involving over 6,000 classrooms, to celebrate National Literacy Month.
The newly established record required at least 1,500 viewers. “We did it! I think we broke it – crushed it, actually. We’re in the book, guys!” said Burns, who portrayed a fictional version of himself on the children’s show from 1996 to 2002. He expressed both excitement and a bit of nervousness, noting how he felt confident as viewership numbers came in.
The Goddard school system, which caters to kids aged six months to five years, aimed to attract thousands of students across 650 franchises nationwide during this month. It appears that a strong community of kindergarteners and their families, who pay around $3,250 monthly, significantly contributed to this record-breaking attempt.
Burns remarked on the unity achieved when schools rallied to adjust their livestreams. The Guinness category for “Most Viewers Tuned to a Live Reading Stream” required that schools easily exceed the minimum viewer threshold to be recognized in the record books.
With a peak of 6,525 “viewers,” each counted viewer represented a device that might have been used by millions of children, and perhaps even parents who grew up watching Burns. “I feel great. I have 100,000 families we serve at 650 schools. It’s wonderful to see what can happen when everyone collaborates. It’s really exciting—not just my personal achievement,” he shared.
According to a representative of Goddard, selecting Burns was a natural choice. They hoped that his presence would inspire a sense of curiosity in the young audience, even if they didn’t immediately recognize him. “These kids don’t know who I am. ‘Who is this guy?’ But I love it,” Burns quipped.
After leaving “Blue’s Clues,” he took a break from children’s television for two years, sparking rumors about his well-being. However, he was simply transitioning to different projects, including acting in horror films and forming a band.
He made a notable return during the COVID-19 pandemic with a series of TikTok videos, where he checked in with fans and their mental health. Looking ahead, Burns is excited about launching a new podcast, which will aim to capture the “joy and wonder” of his iconic shows, but this time geared towards adults.
