For decades, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was as dependable as the calendar itself.
You could count on it appearing on network television each December — first on CBS, where it premiered in 1965, and later on ABC, which aired it for more than 20 years.
Families didn’t need a subscription, a login or an app.
You simply flipped on the TV and there it was: Charlie Brown, a fragile little tree and a jazz score that somehow defined the season.
That changed in 2020, when Apple TV+ acquired exclusive streaming rights to the Peanuts catalog.
A program that had lived its entire life on broadcast TV moved behind a subscription service.
The shift landed quietly on paper but loudly with viewers.
Social media filled with frustration from people who saw the special as a public tradition, not something that should live behind a paywall.
Some critics put it plainly: it felt like Apple had taken a piece of Christmas off the air.
Recognizing the backlash, Apple struck a temporary compromise.
For two years, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” aired on PBS — a brief return to free television that softened the blow for families accustomed to watching it without jumping through digital hoops.
But the PBS broadcasts ended after 2021, leaving Apple TV+ as the only place to stream the special.
Since then, Apple has offered a small concession each December: a short free-to-stream window that lets anyone watch the special without subscribing.
This year, that window falls on Dec. 13–14.
For the rest of the season, it remains available only through Apple TV+ or as a digital or DVD purchase.
It's Christmas 365 