By now, you've probably seen at least a few news outlets and a few hundred social media accounts report the unfortunate breaking of an over 50-year tradition: "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", along with "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" and "Christmas" (and any other Peanuts holiday specials) will no longer be airing on network TV and instead by distributed off the streaming service Apple TV+. Although said service is a $5/month subscription, they are giving three-day free periods for each one around their respective occasions.
Naturally, this news has ticked off all sorts of people, from the Peanuts fans, to people nostalgic over watching the specials, to generations of casual television viewers who appreciate seeing the characters grace their screens every holiday season. And the problems people have with this aren't quite as nuanced as just being able to watch it the way they used to or getting carried away with nostalgia, but this migration isn't completely without merit either. So we'll be covering exactly why this happened, why many are heartbroken and disgusted, and how this could've been better executed.
The decision to have Apple TV+ host the specials was part of a deal with WildBrain which also included making new Peanuts material, and was made in early October 2020. It is unsure exactly what conspired to make the rights depart from ABC (who have run the specials since 2001 - they were originally held by CBS), but - although it hit a solid 5 million views last year - it's been slowly waning in interest across the years. We can assume that ABC let their contract expire, possibly either because of Disney losing interest in hosting such a property or just not wanting to air such vintage-looking material so regularly, and WildBrain chose to package it with their planned ambitions for the franchise when searching for a new distributor.
Obviously, despite the specials being pulled off network TV and seemingly being pulled off most a la carte digital sellers like Amazon, the specials - being as much of a landmark and longtime traditon as they are - remain very highly accessible overall. DVDs and Blu-Rays are about a dime a dozen, and can even be found in many a compilation. As stated before, Apple TV+ is hosting free periods for each of the specials. And of course there are the less... legal methods that are certainly going to rise in usage.
However, this is one such instance where accessibility really isn't people's problem with the move, or at least not the main problem. In fact, many of these detractors - the fans especially - have explicitly mentioned having DVDs or other copies easily on hand. No, it is the mere concept of messing with something so wholesome, atmospheric, and anti-capitalist after it becoming one of the biggest staples of the holidays, all for it being pushed on a C-tier service owned by one of the largest corporate giants.
Like, it has been around for so long and has stated the true spirit of the holidays so incredibly bluntly, that it has transcended being a piece of media to becoming a staple of western culture. It's even up there with the Super Bowl as one of few television events where the majority of viewers will willingly view the commercials just to get into the spirit, partly because some of the ads like your M&Ms and Hershey Kisses spots are holiday traditions in and of themselves. The fact the little familiarity that was left in 2020 is being even more stripped away by this also doesn't help matters.
On top of that, you really can't deny that viewing things like this on live TV and sharing it with other people is the kind of special experience that streaming service distribution simply can't replicate, at least not in its current state. This is honestly enough grounds for a different discussion by itself, but in any case, there is something especially distinct about having that special 30 minutes every holiday season to gather around on the couch and watch the kids go trick-or-treating, Schroeder's iconic dance sequence, and Linus reciting the true meaning of Christmas straight from the Bible. You can easily still gather with streaming parties, as has become more commonplace a feature, but there's still the viewers missing out on the big social media blowup. There's not really a sense you're sharing it with millions anymore. Especially with the fact that this is network TV, which has a much bigger reach than cable ever would and unlike cable, shows no real signs of going away.
However, it's hard for me consider the result and reaction truly avoidable to a certain degree, with how complicated and pricey copyright law tends to get and exactly how many parties were at play here. And, of course, streaming services all need a certain hook to get consumers engaged, so bidding for the rights to stuff this popular is bound to happen. But it feels like all the planets aligned in such a way that the backlash that would've resulted in just one step only compounded with each one. It definitely seems like everyone's problems are about the entire picture and not just one component. If WildBrain were to host it on an official YouTube stream, or possibly even making this announcement before the final time they aired on network TV so people will at least prepared for it, there still would've been complaints from many but it may have helped at least ease the pain.
The truth is, there's always going to be corporate activity at play no matter who and where your favorite content is distributed, especially in times when many media companies are facing financial troubles in one way or another. But I don't want to say we should just roll with the punches, as obviously there are much better ways the corporate suits can go about this most of the time, like the two I previously described and possibly some ideas you readers may have in your own heads. While there's definitely a consensus among virtually everyone that you shouldn't mess with certain unspoken rules, there may be some room for leniency within the general public as things change throughout the world of consumption - but only if they're handled with tact and grace.
The Peanuts will forever be loved by society, and the specials will never die out no matter how much its distribution changes and no matter how much people will have to go outside their usual traditions. But if you don't respect the demand of the audience, and take them too far out of their current comfort zones instead of making a more gradual, respectful push, you're simply not doing your job.
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