If not for Disney (and other entertainment megacorporations, but mostly Disney) pushing for vastly extended copyright, this would have been in the public domain around 1995 and you could have your own copy to play any time you like without any fear of getting in trouble. Anyone could broadcast it, as well.
The root of the problem here is the excessively-long copyright term that facilitated this. Excessive copyright is one of the biggest enemies of cultural preservation and dissemination.
The whole move to streaming is going to not live up to it's promise. I have no intention to sign up for multiple services, and figure out which one has the content I want. I got rid of cable because I was tired of 500 channels and nothing is on. I can't wait until some of them consolidate.
Meanwhile, you can watch the Star Wars Holiday Special on the Internet Archive.[1]<p>[1] <a href="https://archive.org/details/thestarwarsholidayspecialhighquality2" rel="nofollow">https://archive.org/details/thestarwarsholidayspecialhighqua...</a>
> The Halloween special, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," premiered on Apple TV + on October 19 for Apple TV + subscribers, but Apple is also making it free to watch from October 30 through November 1.<p>via <a href="https://www.macrumors.com/2020/10/27/peanuts-wildbrain-apple-tv-plus-petition/" rel="nofollow">https://www.macrumors.com/2020/10/27/peanuts-wildbrain-apple...</a>
My personal price preference breaks down into something along the lines of:<p>I am happy to pay up to $100/mo for access to ANY movie or TV show.<p>In the past on HN, people have pointed out that this is not possible at the $5 or $12 or $15/month price point which is fine. I wish someone would at least offer the option (or even tiers) so that I could make the decision for myself.<p>I don't really understand why the streaming services are leaving so much consumer surplus on the table. Clearly people are open to the idea because cable companies had tiers like this (which people paid for).
One quick Meta edit- this is a loss for Amazon, which has a connected interest to WaPo. Let’s be clear about that first. No mention of that tie in the article, which is pathetic.<p>My kids watched the Charlie Brown Halloween special ad free and at their schedule’s whim (aka 2x in a row). Don’t shed a tear for Charlie, he’s fine, this offering is way better. Now If I could only get my wife to let me cancel directv once and for all...<p>I get that the copyright laws should be tweaked and Charlie should be totally free, but I’m guessing that the copyright law has also enabled Disney to spend quite a bit of money on the new Charlie Brown space series, which my kids also have loved.<p>At the end of the day, I didn’t pay any more money to see Charlie Brown Halloween, I saw it ad free, very high quality picture (you can actually see the shadows from the way the cartoon was assembled I think?), I didn’t have to worry if this was some troll version where Charlie pulls out a chainsaw and slices Lucy up, (looking at you, YouTube). I mean, do I need to go on?