How to watch the ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ NBC Christmas special live on TV tonight

Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you celebrate your anniversary tonight? The 1964 claymation special from Rankin/Bass Productions, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, celebrated its 60th anniversary last week. In honor of the occasion, NBC is airing an extended version of the Christmas special. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer originally premiered on NBC, and tonight the network is airing an extended version. Are you ready to tune in? Here’s what you need to know about how to watch the claymation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer tonight.

What time is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on tonight?

The NBC Christmas special will air in an extended format tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

Will Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer be on Peacock?

While the classic claymation Christmas special will finally return to NBC tonight, it won’t be available to stream on-demand on Peacock. However, if you have Peacock Premium Plus, which includes a live feed of NBC, you can technically watch the special when it airs live on the channel.

How to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer without cable:

A 14/month ad-free Peacock subscription lets you stream live NBC 24/7, including the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special airing tonight. Plus, watch new movie releases like Despicable Me 4, select Hallmark holiday movies live and on-demand for three days following their premiere on the Hallmark Channel, every Bravo show and thousands of hours of beloved shows such as Parks and Recreation and The Office.

$14/month at Peacock

What is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) about?

In this Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Rudolph the reindeer goes from an outcast in his community to the only reindeer who can save Christmas. But before he can lead Santa’s sleigh, he has to take a trip to the Island of Misfit Toys with Hermey the misfit elf and Yukon Cornelius.

You can purchase this special on Amazon or Apple TV. You can also find many clips uploaded for free on YouTube. And to celebrate the 60th anniversary, NBC will air a special extended version of the special on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET, with an encore viewing scheduled for Dec. 12 at the same time. While it will air on NBC this year, it appears that Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer will not be available on Peacock (unless you have Peacock Premium Plus, which includes access to a live feed of NBC).

Watch live on NBC with Peacock Plus

Buy on Amazon

Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976)

After Rudolph’s initial success, Rankin/Bass made sequels to his story, including Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, where Santa tasks Rudolph with finding the Baby New Year before time is frozen forever. While this one’s not quite so Christmassy, it’s still a fun holiday watch (especially around New Year’s).

For the next two days, you can stream this special with AMC+ (or the add-on via Prime Video with a free trial) or just rent it on Amazon.

Watch on Amazon Prime Video

Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas In July (1979)

Rankin/Bass characters, assemble! Another chapter of the Rankin/Bass Rudolph franchise, Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas In July features a team-up between Rudolph and Frosty (from the cartoon-animated Rankin/Bass special, but in this one, he’s claymation!). The dynamic duo go on a wild adventure together in this 97-minute special that is basically a full-blown movie. You can stream Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas In July on AMC+ (or via the AMC+ Amazon Prime Video add-on, which offers a free trial).

Watch on Amazon Prime Video

More ways to watch NBC live without cable: