Though the original run ended in 2001, sixty new episodes were ordered in 2014. By October 2000, the franchise generated over £1 billion ($1.61 billion) in merchandise sales.

A single based on the show's theme song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1997 and remained in the Top 75 for 32 weeks, selling over a million copies.

It won multiple BAFTA awards and was nominated for two Daytime Emmys throughout its run. The series rapidly became a commercial success in Britain and abroad. Recognised throughout popular culture for the uniquely shaped antenna protruding from the head of each character, the Teletubbies communicate through gibberish and were designed to bear resemblance to toddlers. The programme focuses on four multi-coloured creatures known as 'Teletubbies', named after the television screens implanted in their abdomens. Teletubbies is a British children's television series created by Ragdoll Productions' Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for BBC.