Black Friday is a time for deals, but it's also a time to deck the halls and get ready for the holiday season. This year, if you're searching for A Charlie Brown Christmas to get in the holiday spirit, you may be disappointed to discover that your favorite Charlie Brown special is exclusively available on Apple TV, behind a paywall — sorry, Charlie... Apple currently owns the exclusive streaming rights to the Peanuts cartoons, following years of the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas tradition TV specials being available across multiple broadcast networks — usually ABC and CBS. This year, A Charlie Brown Christmas won't air for free on either of those networks.

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. The good news is Apple TV has a great Black Friday deal running right now.

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 …

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 typically makes the Charlie Brown Christmas special free for all — not just Apple TV subscribers — to watch on one weekend in December. But they have yet to confirm the dates that A Charlie Brown Christmas will be free in 2025.