Tuning in to broadcast airings of seasonal favorites like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and The Grinch has been a part of many families’ holiday traditions for decades. This seasonal programming, along with football and returning series, brought millions of viewers to the major television networks, all staples of “The New Fall Season.”
In today's streaming-first world, consumers are finding new ways to engage with these old favorites. Antenna’s analysis of what brings subscribers to streaming in the fall found that this type of seasonal programming is a cornerstone of that acquisition strategy.
Antenna finds that seasonal programming not only draws in audiences; it actually drives substantial new sign-ups to streamers. In fact, several seasonal titles ranked in the top 10 by reach among new subscribers during the critical September to December acquisition window.
So which seasonal shows and movies do new subscribers gravitate toward?
Top seasonal titles on Premium SVODs
Apple TV’s 2020 acquisition of the exclusive streaming rights to Charlie Brown and Peanuts holiday specials has proven successful in driving new sign-ups to the service. All three Peanuts holiday specials – A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving – ranked as top-viewed titles by new Apple TV Sign-ups. A Charlie Brown Christmas was the 3rd most-watched title across Apple TV’s entire catalog by new sign-ups last fall.
Four seasonal titles released on HBO Max in 2025 – Elf, Bad Santa, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and The Polar Express – all ranked among the most-viewed titles by new HBO Max Sign-ups.
Peacock, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ each had a single seasonal title as a top driver of sign-ups last fall. Hocus Pocus 2 was the 12th most-watched title by new Disney+ Sign-ups, even though it has been on the service since 2022.
Many specialty services see their biggest lift in the fall
It’s not just Premium SVODs taking advantage of seasonally relevant programming in the fall. Specialty services like Hallmark+, with its well-known holiday fare, and Shudder, a horror- and thriller-dedicated streaming service, rely on the season to end the year strong.
Antenna analyzed the last two years of monthly sign-ups and found that both services saw significant acquisition growth during the fall season.
Hallmark+ averages 3.3x its normal monthly Sign-ups around the holidays, averaging 422K monthly Sign-ups in November and December 2024 and 2025. Shudder draws 2.3x its usual volume in October, an average of 157K monthly Sign-ups in 2024 and 2025 (compared to 68K averaged across the other eleven months).
Learn more about how seasonal releases and Black Friday deals impact streaming sign-ups in our latest report and join our mailing list too.
For more detailed information on Antenna's methodology and definitions of core metrics, please visit antenna.live/methodology.
