Peanuts Worldwide, the newly formed joint venture between Iconix Brand Group (Nasdaq: ICON) and Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates today announced that it has signed a new five year deal with ABC Network for the popular PEANUTS animated holiday specials. The beloved Emmy Award winning specials, including the iconic “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” created by Charles M. Schulz and produced and animated by Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, began airing on ABC in December 2001.
“The PEANUTS holiday TV specials are iconic and represent a family tradition of watching Charlie Brown and the gang kick off the holiday season,” stated Neil Cole, CEO, Iconix Brand Group. Cole added, “This new deal with ABC demonstrates the continued relevance of the PEANUTS brand as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.”
This fall, the famed PEANUTS comic strip will celebrate its 60th anniversary. The first and most well known of the beloved animated holiday specials, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” first aired on television in 1965, marking this year as its 45th anniversary.
Only 5 years? Holiday television without a Peanuts special is like Hallowe’en without pumpkins, Thanksgiving without apple pie, or Christmas without a tree.
I’m sure it will be renewed again after 5 years, then again after the next five and so on and so forth. No need to worry.
I want it to go back to CBS because I miss that spinning ‘CBS Special Presentation’ animation with the funky music.