 The special first aired on December 7, 1969, on the CBS television network in the United States; it has aired annually for the network's Christmas and holiday season every year since, with Freeform sharing the rights to the special with CBS beginning in 2019.The special was based on the Walter E. Rollins and Steve Nelson song of the same name.It featured the voices of comedians Jimmy Durante as the film's narrator (in what would be Durante's final performance in a film), Billy De Wolfe as Professor Hinkle the Magician, and Jackie Vernon as Frosty.