Missed watching ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’? Here's how you can catch the Christmas special again
While there are many classic Christmas special movies and shows that one can binge on from the comfort of their homes this holiday season, special mention must be made of 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'. The beloved stop-motion animation film made its TV debut on NBC back in 1964 and has since then been associated with Christmas cheer and has been broadcast every year on the network during the holiday season, as per the Austin-American Statesman.
Freeform, the channel owned by Disney, aired 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' at 7.15 pm CT on Christmas Eve, i.e., Wednesday, December 24, 2025. For all those members of the audience who somehow missed the broadcast, the Christmas special will be aired once again on the same channel on Christmas Day at 4 pm CT. Apart from this, the film is also available on several other platforms such as Apple TV+, Google Play, and Amazon Prime Video and can be purchased for $9.99.
The story of the longest-running holiday special follows the eponymous Rudolph, an underdog reindeer who has been cast aside for having a glowing red nose. This causes Rudolph to leave behind the comfort of his home, and he meets the rest of his crew, including Yukon Cornelius the prospector, the Abominable Snow Monster, Hermey the elf, and a motley gang of toys. Rudolph's stint as the underdog soon ends, however, with his hero moment arriving when he has to use his glowing red nose to help navigate Santa Claus's sleigh through stormy weather.
Voice actor Burl Ives immortalized the character of Rudolph by lending his voice. He was the narrator of the story, as Sam the Snowman, and also sang the chart-topping theme song 'Rudolph', which remains deeply embedded in Christmas culture to this day. Interestingly enough, the genesis of the character of Rudolph can be traced back to a departmental store in Chicago. As described by The Star, Rudolph was created by Robert L. May in 1939, a copywriter at Montgomery Ward, which was a chain of departmental stores headquartered in Chicago.
May received the commission to create an original coloring book, which would be given away to children by the store's Santa Claus figures during Christmas. This was also devised as a marketing campaign to entice children and their parents to shop at Montgomery Ward outlets. May was inspired by his own childhood of being a shy introvert, as well as the tale of the Ugly Duckling. His painstaking attention to detail in creating Rudolph, all the while tending to his terminally ill wife, was finally rewarded with success when the departmental store published and distributed 2.4 million copies. Eventually, Montgomery Ward transferred the rights of 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' to May without any strings attached.
