Happy Halloween!
If you don’t own the DVD or digital version of It’s The The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown then you’ll have to get an Apple TV+ subscription to watch in 2020. It won’t be airing on a traditional TV network.
In a deal unexpectedly announced last week, AppleTV+ revealed that it has acquired the streaming rights to at least three of the classic Peanuts holiday specials, including Great Pumpkin. It’s still not entirely clear whether the streaming rights to these specials are exclusive to Apple indefinitely, but all signs point to that being the case.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown isn’t airing on broadcast TV. It’s on AppleTV+. – Vox
If you don’t have a subscription to AppleTV+, then they are offering a brief free trial from October 30 – Nov 1 so you can subscribe and check it out.
Live TV is dying, no doubt, but hopefully not the tradition of airing holiday specials for free to the masses. Pay streaming channels like AppleTV+ should continue to use these holiday specials as free teasers for their services vs. a reason to subscribe.
Miracle on 34th Street is a tradition in our home. We have the digital version, so won’t have to worry about which streaming channel will be showing it (Disney+, I believe).
Our advice? Buy the family classics either on physical disc (most safe) or digitally (less safe, but more convenient) so you can watch them every year without having to worry who has the streaming rights. But if you do want to search for movies or TV shows, we recommend using JustWatch.com as your “where to find a movie or TV show” search engine. Yes, it’s better than Google and way better than Amazon which seems to want to have you buy something when there are no results.
Movies, Movies, Movies 
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing I have been a huge Peanuts fan for years since I was a child reading the funnies in the Sunday newspaper. I even read the bio on Charles Shultz to learn more about him and Charlie Brown. But you are right I need to purchase these classics on disc. I am wondering about the Sound of Music and the Grinch too. I watch them every Christmas.
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These holiday favorites take me back to childhood. I hope whomever holds the IP continues to trot them out the masses for many years to come.
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Yes, they are a big part of my holiday tradition. It’s a Wonderful Life too. Although the networks try and play this one against The Sound of Music sometimes.
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You wrote, “… way better than Amazon which seems to want to have you buy something when there are no results.”
I had that result on the Amazon Fire Stick last night looking for “La Dolce Vita.” It’s not on Amazon, but they don’t return “not found,” just links to other movies. I turned to justwatch.com per your suggestion and that movie appears to be unavailable for streaming through any service. It’s a very expensive DVD proposition on Amazon, so my life continues without yet seeing La Dolce Vita.
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Yeah, some movies just go unavailable on streaming. I’m guessing it has to do with the licensing. You’ll see them one day and the next they are gone and available nowhere. There doesn’t seem to be any disclosure of when and where the license will next appear until it does.
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