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Apple TV+ will once again be making the iconic "Peanuts" specials available to non-subscribers for a limited time this holiday season.

Peanuts-Pumpkin.jpg

Here is when each special will be available to stream for free in the Apple TV app:

  • "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown": Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20
  • "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving": Saturday, November 23 and Sunday, November 24
  • "A Charlie Brown Christmas": Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15
Apple TV+ subscribers can already watch the specials at any time of the year.

Apple holds the rights to "Peanuts" content through a deal with distributor WildBrain, and this will be the fourth consecutive year that the specials air on Apple TV+. Not everyone has been a fan of this exclusivity, with a petition calling for the specials to return to broadcast TV networks having received nearly 270,000 signatures since 2020.

Apple did allow the "Peanuts" specials to air on PBS in 2020 and 2021, but not since then.

Article Link: Apple TV+ to Stream 'Peanuts' Holiday Specials for Free Again This Year
 
The problem is, people still need to create an Apple ID just to watch these, and I doubt many families without Apple products will want to bother, when they can just buy the Blu-ray set with all three specials and watch them whenever they want. That's what I did, despite me having a bunch of Apple products. And, ironically, I watch the Blu-rays on my M1 MacBook Air hooked up to my Apple Thunderbolt Display and an MthsTech USB-C Blu-ray burner; then I can even do this before starting up a special:
 
Bleh.

These were on TV when I was a kid, they weren't great then, and they've not gotten any better with age.
And yet some of the shows were nominated for Emmy Awards and the soundtrack album A Charlie Brown Christmas was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The TV specials were iconic of the time when I was growing up - it seemed seemed for a time like every other week or so there was either a Peanuts Special or a rocket launch on TV. But I suppose the TV specials were too nuanced for some. 😛
 
The problem is, people still need to create an Apple ID just to watch these, and I doubt many families without Apple products will want to bother, when they can just buy the Blu-ray set with all three specials and watch them whenever they want. That's what I did, despite me having a bunch of Apple products. And, ironically, I watch the Blu-rays on my M1 MacBook Air hooked up to my Apple Thunderbolt Display and an MthsTech USB-C Blu-ray burner; then I can even do this before starting up a special:

What software are you using to actually watch the Blu-rays?
 
Bleh.

These were on TV when I was a kid, they weren't great then, and they've not gotten any better with age.
I loved these as a little kid.

(I even remember getting all upset and crying during part of "Snoopy Come Home". To me, it was as impactful as Bambi, back then.)

I don't really have a need to watch them again as an adult, to be honest. But I feel that way about pretty much all the classic holiday cartoon specials. I just watched them so much, growing up, I'd rather see something new.
 
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