UPDATE:
“NEW YORK (PIX11) — The holiday magic returns: The Yule Log will once again air on PIX11, PIX11+, and PIX11.com on Christmas Day. PIX11 News will air its beloved 1970 WPIX Yule Log footage on Christmas from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Plus: The original WPIX Yule Log footage from 1966 will air from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Both versions of the Christmas classic will be livestreamed in this story and on PIX11.com/live.”
🎄When I scored my first NYC apartment in 1971, I was a part-time actor and part-time candy salesman. My apartment on the Upper West Side was deluxe but my budget wasn’t. I watched my cash like a hawk. The year I moved in, I decided not to buy a Christmas tree (too expensive in Manhattan). I did buy a daily subscription to the New York Times (incredibly inexpensive.) Reading the Times in bed one Sunday morning, I saw an ad placed by WPIX TV. The headline, “A Glorious Christmas Eve Tradition THE YULE LOG.” I tuned in; it saved my Christmas.
Every December in New York City, just as the winter winds are slicing through the subway grates and the last stubborn leaves finally give up the fight, an unlikely broadcast tradition crackles back to life: the WPIX Yule Log. It’s a holiday ritual so charmingly simple that it could only have been born in the 1960s—an era when network executives were still willing to say, “Sure, let’s put a television camera in front of a fireplace and broadcast the logs burning for hours. And show it—uninterrupted—on TV. What could go wrong?”
The story begins in 1966, when Fred Thrower, then president of WPIX, had a very Manhattan sort of thought. He wanted to give apartment-dwellers—many living in fire-hazard-sensitive walk-ups—a cozy Christmas fireplace of their own. And what better way to do that than to film one real fireplace and beam it into millions of homes? It was essentially the world’s slowest, most hypnotic fireplace screensaver, several decades before screensavers existed.
The original footage was shot inside Gracie Mansion, the official home of the mayor of New York City. The city reportedly had to replace a carpet afterward thanks to an errant ember—making the WPIX Yule Log perhaps the most expensive rug-destroying TV special in history. Still, the broadcast was a sensation. Instead of ratings dropping when WPIX cut its usual programming, viewers tuned in by the thousands for uninterrupted serenity, gentle crackles, and a nonstop soundtrack of holiday classics. It was the kind of TV you didn’t really have to watch—you just basked in it.
The Yule Log returned annually and quickly became as much a part of New York’s December as pretzel carts, roast chestnuts, and people complaining about the cold. But in 1989, in a fit of programming efficiency, WPIX canceled it. New Yorkers mourned. Letters poured in. And for over a decade, fans petitioned for its revival with the same fervor usually reserved for saving sitcoms—or Taco Bell providing more hot sauce packets..
Finally, in 2001, the Yule Log triumphantly returned—digitally restored, musically refreshed, and crackling with renewed purpose. It was like the phoenix of fireplaces: gone for years, then suddenly blazing brighter than ever.
Today, the WPIX Yule Log remains a beloved holiday tradition, proof that even in a city overflowing with noise, drama, and neon, sometimes all you really need is the warm, comforting, flickering glow of a log that never burns out.
Here’s where to watch the Yule Log this year:
First, you can view the WPIX Yule Log on PIX11 (WPIX-TV Channel 11 in the New York City area), the PIX11+ streaming app, and the PIX11.com/live website. Other options have not yet been made clear for WPIX Yule Log watching. Here are guides available now:
- Cable/Satellite: WPIX is available on various cable and
satellite providers in the NYC area, including DirecTV
Stream and Fubo, though availability outside the region
can vary. - Online Livestream: The Yule Log is available for free
online at the official PIX11.com/live website on
Christmas Day. - Streaming Apps: You can download the free PIX11+
app (available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and
Samsung TVs) to livestream the event. The regular
PIX11 app also generally carries the content.
The Yule Log traditionally airs all day on Christmas, with specific timeslots for the different versions:
- Christmas Eve: The Yule Log usually starts streaming
on PIX11.com in the evening. - Christmas Day: The classic 1970 version typically airs
for several hours in the morning (e.g., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST),
the original, “lost” 1966 version often airs as a one-hour
special later in the day (e.g., 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST).
Exact times for December 25, 2025 will be officially confirmed closer to the date on the PIX11website.