Question: Rudolf and Frosty's Christmas in July contained the character Frost the Snowman. In what year did the character Frost the Snowman first appear on television?

full_context: Document 1: Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July: Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (commonly known by its on-screen title as Rudolph and Frosty: Christmas in July, or simply Rudolph and Frosty) is an American crossover Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass, featuring characters from the company's holiday specials including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman". It was filmed in Japan through "Animagic", a stop-motion animation process in the style of "Rudolph". The film premiered in the US on November 25, 1979 on the ABC network.
Document 2: Rankin/Bass Productions: Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. (founded as Videocraft International, Ltd.) was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop motion animation. The pre-1974 library is owned by Universal Studios (via DreamWorks Animation/DreamWorks Classics), while the post-1973 library is owned by Warner Bros. Rankin/Bass stop-motion features are recognisable by their visual style of doll-like characters with spheroid body parts, and ubiquitous powdery snow using an animation technique called "Animagic". Often, traditional cel animation scenes of falling snow would be projected over the action to create the effect of a snowfall.
Document 3: Frosty the Snowman: "Frosty the Snowman" (or "Frosty the Snow Man") is a popular Christmas song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. It was written after the success of Autry's recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" the previous year; Rollins and Nelson shipped the new song to Autry, who recorded "Frosty" in search of another seasonal hit. Like "Rudolph", "Frosty" was subsequently adapted to other media including a popular television special by Rankin/Bass Productions (formerly known as Videocraft International), "Frosty the Snowman". The ancillary rights to the Frosty the Snowman character are owned by Warner Bros., but due to the prominence of the TV special, merchandising of the character is generally licensed in tandem with that special's current owners, DreamWorks Classics.
Document 4: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1948 film): Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1948 animated short film by Max Fleischer based on the 1939 Robert L. May poem "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" about the reindeer with the same name.
Document 5: Frosty Returns: Frosty Returns is an animated Christmas television special starring Jonathan Winters as the narrator and John Goodman as the voice of Frosty the Snowman. The special was directed by Bill Melendez and Evert Brown and features music by Mark Mothersbaugh. It first aired in 1992 on CBS.
Document 6: Frosty the Snowman (film): Frosty the Snowman is a 1969 animated Christmas television special based on the song "Frosty the Snowman". The program, which first aired on December 7, 1969 on CBS (where it still airs to this day), was produced for television by Rankin/Bass Productions and featured the voices of comedians Jimmy Durante as the film's narrator (Durante's final performance in a film) and Jackie Vernon as the title character.
Document 7: Jackie Vernon (comedian): Jackie Vernon (born Ralph Verrone on March 29, 1924 – November 10, 1987) was an American stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor who supplied the voice of Frosty the Snowman in the Rankin/Bass Productions Christmas special "Frosty the Snowman" and its sequel "Frosty's Winter Wonderland".
Document 8: Frosty's Winter Wonderland: Frosty's Winter Wonderland is a 1976 animated Christmas television special and a sequel to the 1969 special "Frosty the Snowman", produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It returns writer Romeo Muller and actor Jackie Vernon as the voice of Frosty, while Andy Griffith stars as the narrator. The special premiered on ABC on December 2, 1976.
Document 9: Jack Frost (1979 film): Jack Frost is a 1979 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. It was directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr., written by Romeo Muller and premiered on the NBC network on December 13, 1979. The special tells the tale of Jack Frost, the winter sprite, and his adventures as a human.
Document 10: Rudolph's Shiny New Year: Rudolph's Shiny New Year is a 1976 Christmas/New Year's stop motion animated television special and a sequel to the 1964 special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The special premiered on ABC on December 10, 1976. Three years later, it was also aired on TV Asahi in Japan on December 24, 1979 under the Japanese dub title 赤鼻のトナカイ ルドルフ物語 ("Akahananotonakai Rudorufu Monogatari").
Document 11: The Year Without a Santa Claus: The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name, illustrated by Kurt Werth. It was originally broadcast on December 10, 1974 on ABC.
Document 12: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special): Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a 1964 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and currently distributed by Universal Television. It first aired Sunday, December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States, and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of "The General Electric Fantasy Hour". The special was based on the Johnny Marks song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" which was itself based on the poem of the same name written in 1939 by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS, with the network unveiling a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the program in 2005. As with "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "Rudolph" no longer airs just once annually, but several times during the Christmas and holiday season on CBS. Unlike other holiday specials that also air on several cable channels (including Freeform), "Rudolph" only airs on CBS. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV special in history. 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the television special and a series of postage stamps featuring Rudolph was issued by the United States Postal Service on November 6, 2014.
Document 13: Arthur Rankin Jr.: Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. A part of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animation features such as "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and the 1977 cartoon animation of "The Hobbit". He is credited on over 1,000 television programs.
Document 14: The Legend of Frosty the Snowman: The Legend of Frosty the Snowman is a 2005 American/Canadian direct-to-video animated film produced by Classic Media and Studio B Productions. This movie has also been bundled with the original 1969 Rankin/Bass special and the CBS Entertainment Productions sequel. The special originally aired annually on Cartoon Network in the United States, and it now airs on Kids & Teens TV in the country since December 11, 2011, despite the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, which acquired Classic Media and renamed it DreamWorks Classics in 2012, and currently distributed by Universal Television. Narrated and sung by Burt Reynolds, with veteran actor/voice artist Bill Fagerbakke in the role of Frosty, the film has very little continuity with the original, featuring a rebooted back-story.
Document 15: A Flintstone Christmas: A Flintstone Christmas is a 1977 animated Christmas television special featuring characters from "The Flintstones" franchise. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and is the second Christmas-themed animated work in the franchise, after the 1964 episode "Christmas Flintstone." Both feature the character Fred Flintstone taking on the role of Santa Claus.
ground_truth: 1969