Apple TV+ nabs exclusive rights to A Charlie Brown Christmas and other classic Peanuts specials

Vulture

A Charlie Brown Christmas, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will now stream on Apple TV+ exclusive as part of a deal to produce more Peanuts holiday specials (including for Mother's Day, Earth Day and New Year's Eve), reports Josef Adalian. But does this mean the three specials won't air for free on broadcast TV as they do every year? "ABC has been the main home of Great Pumpkin and all the major Peanuts specials for the past 20 years, having snatched them away from their original home on CBS in 2000," says Adalian. "But Great Pumpkin is not currently on ABC’s advance programming specials through early November, and while a network rep indicated that could change, it would be odd for ABC not to schedule the specials by now, unless there were contractual issues (such as ABC’s deal having expired). Apple’s official press release announcing its deal for the specials only specifies that TV+ would be home to the specials and says nothing about exclusivity. However, sources familiar with the deal say that the streamer will indeed have complete exclusivity — broadcast and streaming. Peanuts specials not airing on a free, over-the-air broadcast network for the first time since the 1965 Christmas special debuted is another milestone moment in TV history." Apple said it will make the three specials available to stream for free. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown will be available for free from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will stream for free from Nov. 25 through Nov. 27. A Charlie Brown Christmas is expected to have a free window as well in December. ALSO: Jimmy Kimmel calls this "sneaky news": "Those of us who purchased the Peanuts specials (my favorite) from Apple are no longer able to find them in our @AppleTV library," he tweeted.