As Charlie Brown once said: "I won't let commercialism ruin MY Christmas!"

This Christmas, if you're searching for your favorite Peanuts Christmas special to pop on while you deck the halls, you may be disappointed to discover that A Charlie Brown Christmas is now exclusively available on Apple TV, behind a paywall — sorry, Charlie ...

Back in 2020, Apple secured the exclusive streaming rights to the Peanuts cartoons after years of the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition TV specials being available across multiple broadcast networks — usually ABC and CBS. The bright side of having to subscribe to Apple TV+ to watch the Peanuts cartoons is that you can catch all your favorite Charlie Brown holiday shows, including A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! in one place.

So, if you’d like to watch Charlie Brown pick out a little sapling tree for the gang's Christmas play before you gather to open presents with your family, you’ll need access to Apple TV+.

What channel is A Charlie Brown Christmas on this year?

After years of the Peanuts' Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween TV specials airing on the likes of ABC, CBS and PBS every holiday season, all the Charlie Brown specials are now only available through Apple TV+. Luckily, the service offers a free trial, so you don't technically need to shell out any money to see Linus explain the true meaning of Christmas this year …

How to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas

When will A Charlie Brown Christmas be free this year? 

In the name of Christmas (and in an effort to not be a total Grinch!) Apple TV+ made the Charlie Brown Christmas special free for all — not just Apple TV+ subscribers — to watch on Saturday, December 14, 2024 and Sunday, December 15, 2024. If you miss that window, you can still stream A Charlie Brown Christmas free with the help of Apple TV's free trial period.