No Charlie Brown This Halloween?

Fans were horrified to learn that the Peanuts Halloween special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, will not be airing on broadcast TV this year as usual. On Monday the rights holders to the Peanuts brand announced that the holiday specials would be streaming exclusively on Apple TV+ instead, as a part of their growing partnership with Apple. This also includes A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is an autumn staple for many people, usually airing on network TV throughout the month of October. They will still be able to catch it this year, but many fans do not care for this aggressive push to adopt yet another subscription service. They flooded social media with angry messages, many saying that they will never join Apple TV+ out of spite. Others were more optimistic, pointing out that Apple TV+ will show the special for free, even to non-subscribers from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?creatorScreenName=PopCulture&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1318224096895918087&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fpopculture.com%2Fstreaming%2Fnews%2Fits-the-great-pumpkin-charlie-brown-not-airing-tv-fans-incensed%2F&siteScreenName=PopCulture&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Apple TV+ secured a lucrative deal with WildBrain, Peanuts Worldwide and Lee Mendelson Film Productions to become the new home for Snoopy, Charlie Brown and their friends. This started with a new original series called Snoopy in Space, released last year, but how now extended to previous content. Another new series, The Snoopy Show, is expected next year.

This is a major acquisition for Apple TV+ as it tries to compete with other streaming services that have stronger associations with recognizable intellectual properties. So far, the company has competed with its low subscription price of $4.99 per month. As it gains more assets like the Peanuts, it may become a strong contender against entities like Disney+, HBO Max and Netflix.

First, fans will have to mourn the loss of the Peanuts on the platforms where they are used to seeing them. Here is a look at how social media responded to the departure of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown from network TV.