Well, the word has gotten out: ABC is NOT airing "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" this year. I would assume the COVID-19 pandemic had a part to play, but I also know that ABC's contract to air the Peanuts specials was set to expire some time in 2020. Perhaps it has already expired and they don't want to renew it, since they don't show as much interest in the Peanuts anymore as they used to, since Peanuts isn't a Disney property and especially now that DHX/Wildbrain co-owns the Peanuts with the Schulz family. This became especially evident when Pixar came out with "Toy Story of Terror," and ABC, being a Disney company as well, loved it so much that they kicked "Scared Shrekless" (the special that used to be paired with the edited "Great Pumpkin" special) off the network to make room for it, and would often promote TSOT way more while barely mentioning the "Great Pumpkin" special. Oh, the "Great Pumpkin" would air a second time, uncut and paired with an edited version of "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown," but ABC would just stick it on a random night in a random timeslot where nothing new is scheduled on their network (more often than not pitted against a football or World Series game or some other big TV event.) They didn't even do anything for the 50th anniversary in 2016!
We can probably expect no Peanuts showings on network TV for the rest of the year due to the pandemic, but hopefully next year another network will pick up the Peanuts specials, like possibly start airing on FOX (since they had also shown "Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown"), or maybe they could even go back to CBS!


Any thoughts/comments?

Would've expected it to air this year considering this is the 70th anniversary of the strip this month. And I thought Sony bought Peanuts a few years ago.

And I thought Sony bought Peanuts a few years ago.

In 2018, Sony Music Entertainment Japan bought 49% of DHX Media's stake in Peanuts Worldwide. According to Wikipedia , WildBrain holds 41%, SMEJ holds 39%, and Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates owns 20% (they have owned this stake since 2010, when United Media sold its Peanuts assets to Peanuts Worldwide LLC. Iconix owned the remaining 80%)

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I apologize for breaking my own "double-posting" rule, but this explains why "Great Pumpkin" isn't going to be on ABC this year: Apple TV+ has acquired the rights  to stream Peanuts content old and new.

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I'm not sure anything encapsulates the state of the television industry in 2020 more than the idea that "A Charlie Brown Christmas" will only be available on one particular streaming service.

Now that this is the deal, it suddenly feels like it was inevitable, but it's still sort of disheartening. The asterisk being that most people who really want to watch it most likely own it in their personal libraries anyway.

Words can't describe how bizarre - and in a way, disappointing - it is that there won't be any Peanuts specials on regular TV for the remainder of the year. And for that matter, isn't it sad that A Charlie Brown Christmas won't be airing on TV for its 55th anniversary?

The time to take action is now:

https://www.change.org/p...als-back-to-broadcast-tv 

Sign and share.

I'm surprised that that petition has gained as much traction as it has. I doubt Apple will be flexible and allow the specials to air on a different network this year.

(Come to think of it, is there any info on how many viewers the Charlie Brown specials have received during their time on ABC? They're traditions, so I'd expect a decent turnout.)

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"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" has not aired on network television every year since its original broadcast like "A Charlie Brown Christmas" has. Whatever year "You're A Good Sport, Charlie Brown" premiered (1976?), it aired in place of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". (Yes, I am old enough to have watched the original broadcast. And I ordered the book adaptation through the school book club.) It was probably because Charlie Brown loses his helmet during the motorbike race, so Linus makes him another one out of a pumpkin. This involves a trip to the pumpkin patch with Sally, who tells Linus not to say a word about the Great Pumpkin.