Peanuts Fans Upset A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Can't Be Livestreamed on PBS

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving aired for the first time on public television Sunday night thanks to a deal between Apple and PBS to broadcast the beloved holiday special could be viewed by the masses and not just AppleTV+ subscribers. However, the joy of many quickly turned to irritation and ire when fans attempted to tune for the holiday tradition and quickly discovered that, while the special was in fact airing over the air on PBS, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving couldn't be livestreamed via PBS' platforms.

In October, it was announced that AppleTV+ had secured the rights to the Peanuts cartoons, including the catalog of holiday specials such as A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, thus ending the national network broadcast of those programs each holiday season. While it was announced that both A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas would be available for free on Apple TV+ during select windows during the season, the move generated a great deal of backlash ultimately resulting in the partnership with PBS that would see A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving air on PBS and PBS KIDS on November 22nd and A Charlie Brown Christmas on December 13th.

Unfortunately, when viewers who had either cut the cord or didn't otherwise have access to PBS over-the-air tuned in using various livestream options, they quickly discovered that the Apple/PBS partnership didn't work in their favor. The Thanksgiving special was not available to livestream viewers for PBS -- and people are not happy about it. Many on social media declared that Apple has "ruined" the holidays for kids, prompting further backlash against Apple regarding its handling of the Charlie Brown specials.

You can read on to see some of the reactions from viewers discovering that A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving cannot be livestreamed and be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments.