image © whoever owns Peanuts today
Is nothing sacred? It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown will not air on broadcast television during Halloween season for the first time in 54 years. It’s moved to different networks over the years as execs shuffled the Peanuts specials around but it’s always aired on network television. I have a blu ray copy, but there’s still something about the collective (and FREE) experience that just feels different.
The Halloween Grinch who’s responsible for this menacing decision is Apple TV. Apple is looking for any way to lure viewers to their service, so they’ve purchased the rights to all of the Peanuts specials. Word is that they will offer It’s the Great Pumpkin outside of their paywall on October 31 and November 1, but that’s just a lure to drag you into Apple’s streaming universe. Since they’ve doubled down on their service, we can all look forward to even more fragmentation of quality content moving forward. I, for one, will never spend a single dollar on anything from Apple, but that’s another story for another time. This is just what happens when a big media conglomerate (AKA one of Linus’ “big eastern syndicates”) owns a property like this. It goes on the chopping block for sale to the highest bidder. Charles Schultz, creator of the Peanuts comics, would have hated this move.
I have very little love for any of the streaming services these days. With the single exception of Amazon Prime (an annual subscription that includes free Amazon shipping), I rotate my subscriptions frequently so I only have one other streamer on tap at any given time. That allows me to both manage my budget and to see the content I want to see. If a service like Netflix has very little quality content, I might subscribe one month out of the year to catch up. Disney+ now gets a few months when The Mandalorian is airing. You get the idea.
The problem is, the fragmentation of quality content is now at epic proportions. And now it’s claimed my beloved Peanuts. I should have seen this coming. Ever since Fox Animation gutted Charlie Brown’s soul for The Peanuts Movie, nothing good has happened for the gang. If you haven’t seen it, I’ll just offer this spoiler: Charlie Brown wins. Ugh!
Will the trials of 2020 never end?