Who doesn't love "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"? It's a veritable holiday classic, right up there with watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and, for some, "A Christmas Story" every year with your friends and family. It's a must-have for your annual holiday movie watch party, especially if you're watching with little ones who have never seen the iconic television special before. It's an ideal family Christmas movie to add to your list. If you want to know how to watch "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" this year, you've come to the right place.
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While "Rudolph" has traditionally aired on broadcast TV every year since its NBC debut in 1964, it can be difficult to catch it when it's airing with our busy schedules these days. Luckily, in the age of streaming, there are ways to catch "Rudolph" even if your daily routine doesn't allow for you to sit down in the evening and watch it as it airs. When you can plan for some time for the whole family to watch, that's actually better, because this is certainly a special that will put a smile on everyone's face.
It isn't immediately obvious how to watch or where to find "Rudolph" as far as viewing it digitally, though. If this quintessential holiday special has been in your rotation every year since you were a kid and you want to pass it down to your own children, or you just want to watch it for nostalgia's sake, here's how you can watch this classic as soon as the holidays roll around this year.
How to watch 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' in 2023
NBC
If you're planning on streaming "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" this year, unfortunately, you're out of luck. The Christmas special is not available to stream on services like Netflix or Hulu. Amazon Prime, Paramount+, Peacock, and Disney+ curiously don't have it, either.
Unfortunately, to enjoy "Rudolph" this year, you'll have to buy or rent a digital copy for the most convenient route. It's up for purchase on platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Vudu, however, for $9.99. It's a bit steep at that price, but if you purchase it, you'll be able to watch it whenever you want, and it'll already be on deck for next year, too. Alternatively, you might want to seek out an affordable DVD or Blu-ray copy for your physical media collection and keep it handy when the holidays roll around.
The other option is to try and find the special on network TV when it airs. If you don't mind watching with commercials and you have the time to sit down and watch it on cable networks' time, check your local listings for when it's planned to run. You can always stream live TV with apps like YouTube TV and Hulu.
In the past, "Rudolph" aired during Freeform's "25 Days of Christmas" lineup. It's unclear whether the special will be on TV this year or not, but you can likely find it on network channel CBS as well.
