How to watch ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’: All the times it airs on TV in 2023
For many of us, the Christmas season officially begins the first time we see “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” on TV.
The 1964 stop-motion classic is the longest-running holiday special in television history — and without a doubt, one of the most popular.
If you somehow possibly don’t know the plot, it tells the story of a young reindeer born with a very shiny nose, who is ostracized and bullied by his peers (and honestly, even by Santa and his own father) because he’s different. But he becomes a hero when his shiny nose is needed to guide Santa’s sleigh through a bad storm on Christmas Eve. This Rankin & Bass production is narrated by Burl Ives, who takes the form of a vested and bespectacled snowman.
Rudolph’s story was actually first animated in 1948, in an 8-minute theatrical short directed by Max Fleischer and narrated by Paul Wing. It was based on a poem by Robert L. May, which was published by Montgomery Ward in 1939. (Note: That 1948 short will likely air on the Freeform cable channel at least a couple of times this season.) The following year, the hit song, written by Johnny Marks and sung by Gene Autry, became a No. 1 hit on the U.S. charts.
When and where to watch ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’
“Rudolph” will air on television a few times over the season — typically on CBS and Freeform (basic cable channel) — with the first airing on Monday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m. on CBS.
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” will air again on CBS at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16.
Here are the scheduled airings on Freeform. If we see additional “Rudolph” broadcasts, we’ll update here.
- Sunday, Dec. 3 at 7:10 p.m.
- Monday, Dec. 4 at 5:50 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 8:15 p.m.
- Thursday, Dec. 21 at 5:15 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 24 at 5:35 p.m.
- Monday, Dec. 25 at 3:30 p.m.
To follow other good holiday programming through the end of the year, check out our 2023 Holiday TV Guide at nando.com/WarmTV.
This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 9:25 AM with the headline "How to watch ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’: All the times it airs on TV in 2023."
