After 54 Years, ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’ Won’t Air on Network TV
I guess this was inevitable. In an age where everyone and their brother is starting a subscription TV streaming service, whoever owned the rights to Charlie Brown was bound to make us pay for him and his Peanuts gang eventually.
I’ve been around for A LOT of Halloweens, Thanksgivings, and Christmases, and there has never been a one that ABC didn’t air “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
In fact, as a child (before the ability to record shows), you marked your calendar so you could watch them. Missing them was unthinkable. Those days are over. Apple TV+ now owns the rights to these and as such, if you want to see them, you’ll need to subscribe. It’s the Great Pumpkin debuted on Apple TV+ Monday.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving arriving November 18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w6faOERqr0&feature=emb_logo
and A Charlie Brown Christmas premiers on December 4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxlNCkuE11s&feature=emb_logo
Now before you think Apple TV+ is greedy and evil, the streamer is also making the specials available for free for a limited time. Pumpkin will be streaming free from October 30-November 1, with Thanksgiving following from November 25-27 and Christmas from December 11-13
"It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is now streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. Watch it for free from October 30 to November 1 and get ready for more Peanuts specials this holiday season. https://t.co/Ue6e351CTq #PeanutsHalloween #GreatPumpkin pic.twitter.com/Tn0n3UKads
— PEANUTS (@Snoopy) October 19, 2020