Peanuts To Apple!

Apple TV+ obtained the rights to Peanuts which means no holiday specials on broadcast television.

For the first time in television history, you won’t see "It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" on television anymore. You will have to be a subscriber to Apple TV+.

The Charles Schultz’s "Peanuts" comics and animated shows are now a part of Apple and many of the classic holiday specials, the movies, "The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show," "Peanuts" and "Snoopy in Space."

CBS originally aired all The Peanut specials since 1965. It relinquished its distribution to ABC and since 2001 it’s aired the Halloween special, the Thanksgiving special, the Christmas special and the Valentine special.

Apple TV+ announced Monday that it has secured the exclusive rights for all things Peanuts as part of a deal with WildBrain, Peanuts Worldwide and Lee Mendelson Film Productions.

As part of the new partnership, the classic Charlie Brown holiday specials won't air on ABC or any other broadcast TV network this year. "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" premiered on CBS in 1966, then moved to ABC in 2001, where it's aired every year since.

Now before you say "Good grief!" about this development, Apple has confirmed that fans this year will be able to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” for free for a couple of days on Apple TV+.

Apple says it's also creating more brand-new holiday specials with the "Peanuts" gang celebrating Mother's Day, Earth Day, New Year's Eve and a back-to-school special.

“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” debuted Oct. 19 on Apple TV+. The Halloween special will air for free on the streaming service from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.

“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” will be released on Nov. 18, and will be available for free from Nov. 25 to Nov. 27. “A Charlie Brown Christmas" will stream exclusively on Apple TV+ starting on Dec. 4, and will be available for free from Dec. 11 until Dec. 13.

The iconic animated series, created by Charles Schulz, first began as a strip comic called Li’l Folks published back in 1947. It was soon after renamed "Peanuts" in 1950 and featured a cast of children, with the most prominent and introspective of them named Charlie Brown. His dog Snoopy became just as popular.

When Schulz died in 2000, the "Peanuts" comic was running in over 2,500 newspapers in 75 countries. The Peanuts Christmas special was initially expected to be a flop when it aired on television, premiering on Dec. 9, 1965. Instead it became the one of the longest-running holiday specials of all time.

With television shows struggling to get back on the air with COVID-19, many of your favorite shows are likely on the verge of cancellation.