For the first time in five decades, CBS will not air the classic holiday animated specials “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” or “Frosty the Snowman.”
The two holiday shows are moving to Comcast-owned NBC this year, which aired Rudolph from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s before the special started running on CBS. NBC has never aired Frosty the Snowman.
Frosty will air first on NBC, with the telecast scheduled for Thursday, December 5 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time (7:30 p.m. Central and Mountain Time). Rudolph will run during a 75-minute special on NBC scheduled for Friday, December 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time (7 p.m. Central and Mountain Time).
Less clear is whether the specials will also be available on Comcast’s streaming service Peacock, which typically offers NBC shows and specials. CBS has never offered Rudolph or Frosty on Paramount Plus or via streaming cable-like services, because national and digital distribution rights to the show are held by the Walt Disney Company, which airs both specials on its cable channel Freeform.
For those who miss the initial broadcasts on NBC, Rudolph will air again during an encore presentation of the special on Wednesday, December 11, and Frosty will re-run on Thursday, December 12.
News that CBS had lost the telecast rights to the two holiday shows comes several days after Disney emerged as the winner of a bidding war for the rights to air and stream the Grammy Awards, starting in 2027. The rights to the Grammy Awards are held by CBS through 2026.
CBS is owned by media and entertainment giant Paramount Global, which is in the middle of a restructuring of its business that involves layoffs and other cost reduction strategies ahead of its merger with Skydance Media.
