An elegant lunch at NYC’s Gramercy Park Hotel was the setting for Crown Media’s upfront presentation on Thursday, where EVP of ad sales and digital media Ed Georger said he anticipates a 20 percent increase in advertiser commitments at the upfront, explaining, “Advertisers are putting a higher value on original content and a higher value on original family programming.” And the network is truly walking the talk: CEO Bill Abbott remarked that unlike other sister channels, there’s no duplicated programming between Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel.
Hallmark Channel unveiled a slate of 15 original movie premieres that includes the seventh chapter in its highest-rated franchise, Good Witch’s Wonder, starring Catherine Bell and Chris Potter, and the return of the net’s holiday movie line-up, “Countdown to Christmas,” which will include over 1200 hours of family-friendly holiday-themed programming. Among the yuletide offerings: Debbie Macomber’s Mr. Miracle, another partnership with the bestselling author. “We are committed to providing new, original stories that the whole family can watch and enjoy together,” said Michelle Vicary, EVP, programming for Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel, adding that that “is what separates our network as the leader in quality family entertainment.” Another big name joining the Crown Media family is Martha Williamson, former writer and executive producer of the hit Touched By An Angel. Williamson is the writer and executive producer of the new series Signed, Sealed, Delivered, premiering April 20th.
The net will also celebrate love and romance with 24-hour programming in “Countdown to Valentine’s,” from January 31-February 14, and is bringing back Kitten Bowl, a Super Bowl counter-programming event that reached 6.1 million viewers P2+ unduplicated viewers during its four airings in February. Encouraged by the success of the Kitten Bowl, Hallmark will debut the Kitten Paw-Star Game in summer 2015 as part of its “Pet Project initiative devoted to celebrating pets raising awareness of the plight of shelter animals.
Biggest news of all: Hallmark Movie Channel is getting a new name, a new tagline and a new logo – along with an increased emphasis on mystery dramas. Beginning in Q4, the net will rebrand as Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, with a “Mystery Wheel” launching in 2015 featuring three movie franchises that follow the same primary characters over the course of several months. First up: Garage Sale Mystery, starring Lori Loughlin (When Calls the Heart), continues the plot of a 2013 Hallmark Channel movie of that name, in early 2015. “Great mysteries have always been a strong part of Hallmark Movie Channel’s brand,” said Vicary. “The nature of the franchise compels viewers to come back for more suspenseful action from their favorite characters each.” It’s not all about suspense, though. Following record-breaking ratings during Q4 2013, HMC is bringing back “The Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas,” featuring two original movie premieres, The Christmas Secret and The Christmas Shepherd, starting Monday, November 3, and 24/7 holiday themed programming.
