Nobody Thought to Update the ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ Rights for the Streaming Age

Tony Maglio
·4 min read
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas — except on subscription streaming, where you still can’t find classic Rankin/Bass holiday specials like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

“Rudolph,” the 1964 Animagic stop-motion TV special was produced by Videocraft International — later renamed Rankin/Bass — for broadcast network NBC and sponsor General Electric. (GE owned NBC decades before “Rudolph” and decades after, but not during.) Five years later, Rankin/Bass Productions, now actually named Rankin/Bass Productions after Videocraft founders Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, made the animated “Frosty the Snowman” special for broadcast network CBS.

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In 1972 “Rudolph” joined “Frosty” at CBS, where they have remained for more than 50 years. In recent times, “Rudolph” and “Frosty” have also been a part of the Disney-owned cable channel Freeform’s “25 Days of Christmas” marathons. Though they run simultaneously, broadcast and cable are contractually considered different “windows” here, several sources with knowledge of the deals told IndieWire. The Rankin/Bass specials are also available on DVD and Blu-ray.

You know where “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” haven’t been available? Subscription-streaming video, i.e. Netflix & friends. The longstanding CBS broadcast rights do not carry over to sister streamer Paramount+, and Freeform’s cable deal doesn’t bring the specials to Disney+ or Hulu. NBCUniversal distributes “Rudolph” and “Frosty” — but they’re not on its streamer, Peacock, either.

It technically would be incorrect, however, to say that “Rudolph” and “Frosty” aren’t streaming anywhere. They’re available for purchase on PVOD (paid video-on-demand) platforms, like Amazon Prime Video (though not free with a Prime Video membership), Apple TV (note: not +), Vudu, and others. If all you want for Christmas is a digital copy of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” it’ll cost you $7.99.

Obviously, digital rights were not conceptualized during the Rankin/Bass heyday. Then again, VHS tapes weren’t even fully formed, let alone the DVD and Blu-ray formats. Still, there are plenty of examples of TV from the mid-20th-century on present-day SVOD platforms: Paramount+ alone has “I Love Lucy” (’50s), the original “Star Trek” (’60s), and O.G. “The Twilight Zone” (’50s and ’60s).

Other classic animated holiday specials from the era have found their way to SVOD. Apple TV+ went to market on the shoulders of its pricey Peanuts rights, including “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which was CBS’ 1965 answer to NBC’s “Rudolph.” These days, Linus dismantles commercialism exclusively on streamer for the world’s only $3 trillion company.

No, the problem here isn’t the age of the Rankin/Bass holiday specials. The problem with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” the TV special is “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” the song, we’re told.

A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS, from left, Shermy, Sally Brown, Violet, Charlie Brown, Lucy van Pelt, Linus van Pelt, Patty, Schroeder, Frieda, Pig-Pen, Snoopy, aired December 9, 1965.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” debuted in 1965 on CBS and now streams on Apple TV+Courtesy Everett Collection

Rights to the “Rudolph” and “Frosty” songs (and other pre-1974 Rankin/Bass songs) have turned over (and over) through corporate acquisitions. The catalogs once belonged to Classic Media, which was purchased by DreamWorks Animation, which was then purchased by NBCUniversal. It is NBCU’s business affairs team that is trying to catch the music rights up with the times — and they’re getting there.

Sorting out the EST (electronic sell-through) rights for “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” the 1949 Johnny Marks song, allowed “Rudolph” the TV special to expand home-entertainment sales to include one-time downloads to a hard drive — so long as the Marks Estate gets a piece. The math is not too hard to figure out: sell a copy, make a buck (or whatever the rate is).

What is far more complicated is dicing up the subscription revenue of tens of millions of users, most of whom will never watch the special or stream the song — but NBCU is working on it (and working on it, and working on it). At this rate, it would be a Christmas miracle if this all gets sorted out before “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” the song, enters public domain.

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