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The Hallmark Channel is an American
television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...
owned by
Crown Media Holdings Hallmark Media (formerly Crown Media Holdings) is an American media production company with corporate headquarters located in Studio City, California, and is a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. Hallmark Media consists of Crown Media Productions ...
, Inc., which in turn is owned by
Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a private, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was award ...
, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of
television movies Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
and miniseries (mainly in the
romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
genre), original and acquired television series, and lifestyle programs. As of February 2015, Hallmark Channel was available to approximately 85,439,000 pay television households (73.4% of households with television) in the United States. Despite largely being an apolitical brand, Hallmark Channel has garnered a following among politically conservative viewers in suburban and rural areas who, according to
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (renamed in 1981 from the International Center for Economic Policy Studies) is a conservative American think tank focused on domestic policy and urban affairs, established in Manhattan in 1978 by Anto ...
's
Steven Malanga Steven Malanga is an American journalist. He is a contributing editor to '' City Journal'' and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, which publishes ''City Journal''. His primary area of focus is economic development within dense urban centers ...
in a ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' op-ed, feel the network and its original programming feed their desire to "express traditional family values and also to steer away from political themes and stories that denigrate religion." Their biggest conservative-leaning competitors in terms of entertainment programming are INSP, and
GAC Family Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. It was originally established in ...
(which was established by Hallmark Channel's former CEO Bill Abbott), with
FETV FETV (abbreviation for Family Entertainment Television) is an American cable and satellite television network owned by the Family Broadcasting Corporation Family Broadcasting Corporation, formerly known as LeSEA Broadcasting, is an American ...
as a lesser competitor. Much of the filming for Hallmark Channel's most popular shows is done in Canada, with Canadian stars, scenery and talent.


History

The Hallmark Channel traces its history to the launch of two separate religious cable channels, the
American Christian Television System The American Christian Television System (ACTS) was an American religious television network that was founded by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Plans for the network involved a distribution reach through a combination of low-power and fu ...
(ACTS) and the
Vision Interfaith Satellite Network The Vision Interfaith Satellite Network (VISN) was an American religious cable and satellite television network that was owned by the interfaith group National Interfaith Cable Coalition, in cooperation with cable operators. The channel became ...
(VISN). The two networks began alternating time on a shared transponder slot on the Galaxy III satellite in 1992. Under the original timeshare agreement, the network was branded as VISN/ACTS. Each network was provided time for its programming blocks, and would use their own logos. VISN launched on July 1, 1988, and was founded by the National Interfaith Cable Coalition, in cooperation with several cable providers. The coalition's membership consisted of 65 different religious groups. It aired for about 16 hours a day and ran religious programs from mainline Protestant denominations such as the
United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...
. In addition,
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
,
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and Islamic faiths also provided some programming. VISN aired during the morning and evening hours. ACTS commenced operations in 1984, and was owned by the Southern Baptist Convention. It aired programming from
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
and
fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishi ...
non- charismatic Christian groups such as the SBC, the Christian Reformed Church, and the
Association of Regular Baptist Churches The Association of Regular Baptist Churches was an Independent Baptist Christian denomination in Canada. History One of its leading churches is Jarvis Street Baptist Church of Toronto, Ontario, whose well-known pastor of 45 years, Thomas Todhun ...
, as well as well-known evangelists such as Jerry Falwell, Charles Stanley and D. James Kennedy. Both channels aired several hours a week of religious children's programs, some of which overlapped, including ''Sunshine Factory'', ''Joy Junction'', ''
Davey and Goliath ''Davey and Goliath'' is a Christian clay-animated children's television series, whose central characters were created by Art Clokey, Ruth Clokey, and Dick Sutcliffe, and which was produced first by the United Lutheran Church in America and la ...
'', and '' Jot''. In 1993, the network was renamed as the Faith and Values Channel. It began adding a few
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
programs during this time, such as exercise shows, health and
cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Typ ...
s, and family-oriented drama series and movies.


Odyssey Network

In 1995, cable conglomerate
Tele-Communications Inc. Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI) was a cable television provider in the United States, and for most of its history was controlled by Bob Magness and John Malone. The company was started in 1958 in Bozeman, Montana as Western Microwave, Inc. and Co ...
's Liberty Media acquired a 49% ownership stake in the Faith and Values Channel, and took over operational control of the network. It added more secular programming to the network and reduced religious programming to about 10 hours a day. In 1996, the network was rebranded as the Odyssey Network (although on-air promotions often referred to the network simply as "Odyssey"), and launched a website, Odysseyfamily.com, which was used to provide program listings for the network. In 1997, channel CEO Gary Hill died. ''The Teaching of Christ'', ''The Daily Mass'' and ''A Biblical Portrait of Marriage'' were regular religious programs on the channel. Wholesome off-network series on the channel were '' Brooklyn Bridge'' and ''
Trapper John, M.D. ''Trapper John, M.D.'' is an American medical drama television series and spin-off of the film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970). Pernell Roberts portrayed the title character, a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, Californ ...
'', as well as the ''
Davey and Goliath ''Davey and Goliath'' is a Christian clay-animated children's television series, whose central characters were created by Art Clokey, Ruth Clokey, and Dick Sutcliffe, and which was produced first by the United Lutheran Church in America and la ...
'' claymation kids' show. The channel produced shows under the Odyssey Productions name. The channel had a variety show hosted by gospel singer
CeCe Winans Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans; before launching an acclaimed solo career. Winans has been ...
called ''CeCe's Place'' and launched ''Landmarks of Faith'' on July 1, 1998.
Hallmark Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...
and
The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...
bought significant stakes, paid partly through programming commitments, in Odyssey in late 1998. Liberty had convinced Hallmark not to launch its own domestic channel, given difficulty getting carriage. National Interfaith Cable Coalition and Hallmark-Henson would have equal shares while Liberty would increase its stake, while the three groups would share control of the board. Hallmark and Henson would have say over chief executive selection. While adding Henson's and Hallmark's libraries, the channel could not make major programming format changes, so cable systems could not drop them. Hallmark hired former Fox Kids Network worldwide vice-chairman
Margaret Loesch Margaret Ann Loesch () is an American television executive and producer. She is the former President and CEO of Discovery Communications and Hasbro Inc's joint venture television network Hub Network. On June 12, 2014, she announced that she would ...
that year to overhaul Odyssey into a family channel. Under the new ownership structure, Odyssey underwent a major programming revamp on April 4, 1999, using the tagline "a Hallmark and Henson Network". The revamp decreased the amount of religious programs on the network down to an average four hours a day, although more hours were religious on the weekend. The channel began to focus more on family-targeted entertainment programming including some classic sitcoms, children's programs and additional family-oriented movies. The premiere show under the new schedule was '' Gulliver's Travels'' miniseries, in its cable premiere, was produced by Hallmark and Henson. Henson programming on the channel included ''
The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a s ...
'' and ''
Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim Hen ...
''. This revamp had other children's programming like the syndicated '' Zoobilee Zoo'' and ''
The Archie Show ''The Archie Show'' (also known as ''The Archies)'' is an American musical animated sitcom television series produced by Filmation for CBS. Based on the Archie Comics, created by Bob Montana in 1941, ''The Archie Show'' aired Saturday morning ...
''. The new programming even tapped Hallmark Entertainment's Hal Roach Studios library for ''Leonard Maltin Presents''. In 2000, the channel aired its first original holiday movie.
Crown Media Holdings Hallmark Media (formerly Crown Media Holdings) is an American media production company with corporate headquarters located in Studio City, California, and is a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. Hallmark Media consists of Crown Media Productions ...
, Inc. in 2000 was formed with Hallmark Entertainment, Chase Equity Associates, Liberty Media, and the National Interfaith Cable Coalition transferred their 77.5 percent total interest in the Odyssey Network into Crown Media Holdings. Henson Company, now owned by EM.TV & Merchandising, traded in March 2001 Crown Media the remaining ownership in the Odyssey Network for 8% in Crown stock.


Hallmark Channel

On August 5, 2001, the channel underwent yet another rebranding, relaunching as the Hallmark Channel. After agreeing to distribute a religious digital cable network among other items to lift restrictions on the Odyssey Channel to effect the rebranding with plans to quickly add original programming. ''The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells'' mini-series was the first programming under the rebranding. New original programming for the year included the third installment of its Sherlock Holmes film series and five other films, two mini-series and three scripted series, one coming from
The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...
. In April 2001, Crown Media purchased 700 titles from the film library Hallmark Entertainment Distribution, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hallmark Entertainment, for its cable channels and Crown Interactive. The channel began a Sunday night mystery movie
wheel series A wheel series, wheel show, wheel format or umbrella series is a television series in which two or more regular programs are rotated in the same time slot. Sometimes the wheel series is given its own umbrella title and promoted as a single unit ins ...
called ''Mystery Movie'' in 2005. In 2002, the Hallmark Channel premiered a weekday morning talk show, ''New Morning''. A Sunday morning version, hosted by
Naomi Judd Naomi Judd (born Diana Ellen Judd; January 11, 1946 – April 30, 2022) was an American singer and actress. In 1980, she and her daughter Wynonna (born Christina Claire) formed the duo known as The Judds, which became a very successful country ...
, titled ''Naomi's New Morning'', debuted in 2005 and lasted two years before being pulled from the schedule in early 2007. Hallmark Channels in international markets were sold for about $242 million in 2005 to Sparrowhawk Media, a private equity group backed by Providence Equity Partners and 3i. The channel in 2005 had its highest-rated year with 34% increase in viewers and ranked seventh in growth. 2005's highest-rated ad-supported basic cable movie with a 3.6 household rating was "Meet the Santas" on Hallmark. In 2006, the channel acquired a license for 35 Warner Bros. features including "Troy" (2007) and "March of the Penguins" (2005), costing in the multimillion-dollar range. The channel set a new high rating (4.2 household) for an original movie, ''The Christmas Card'', in 2006. With the expiration of RHI Entertainment's exclusive contract with Hallmark Channel, Larry Levinson Productions became the channel's sole producer. In 2007, additional producers were added as suppliers as the channel increased the number of original films by 50% from 20 in 2007 to 30 in 2008. In January 2008, the
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
presidential campaign purchased an hour of Hallmark Channel's primetime slots under a
paid programming Paid or PAID may refer to: * ''Paid'' (1930 film), an American film starring Joan Crawford * ''Paid'' (2006 film), a Dutch film *''Personality and Individual Differences'', a journal See also * Paide Paide is a town in Estonia and the ...
arrangement to run a town hall special promoting Clinton's campaign for
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
on February 4, the day before the multi-state "
Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...
" primaries. The wheel series "Mystery Movie" was discontinued in 2008 as the channel was doing better with lighter romances. With a change in company president in May 2009, the new president planned to move the channel away from dependence on the Western to more light hearted fare to de-age their viewers without alienating their current viewers and match the Hallmark brand more. In mid-June 2009, the network announced it would sell individual ad breaks featuring a single advertiser. The so-called "Fast Breaks" are prefaced with short bumpers announcing that the program streaming will return after a 30-second break. The cost of such standalone spots is about double that of a regular 30-second commercial on the channel. Hallmark Channel signed insurance company
Mutual of Omaha Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Association, Mutual of Omaha is a financial organization offering a variety of insuranc ...
as the first buyer. In late 2009, ''The National Tree'' film kicked off its first annual "Countdown to Christmas" seasonal programming. Hallmark characters, Hoops & Yoyo, hosted Friday "Movie Night" during the Countdown. 2010 saw the channel make a push into lifestyle programming. A January 2010 multi-year deal with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) brought ''
The Martha Stewart Show ''Martha'', also known as ''The Martha Stewart Show'', is an American cooking show hosted by Martha Stewart. The series premiered on September 12, 2005, in syndication until it was picked up by the Hallmark Channel in September 2010 as part of a l ...
'' from syndication to Hallmark in September. Stewart would also produce four prime-time one hour specials for the channel. Hallmark was looking to be a holiday programming destination. On March 26, 2010, a new home and lifestyle block during weekday daytime of Martha Stewart shows started airing on the channel for seven hours. A shorter Stewart block would also air on the weekends. After one month on air with lackluster ratings, the block was reduced to five hours. In January 2012, the channel canceled ''The Martha Stewart Show'' given the show's cost effective with the end of the season in May with reruns through the summer months, but intend to retain a couple of MSLO shows. Hallmark Channel and co-owned film service
Hallmark Movie Channel Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel, and also known as HMM) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings. The channel was spun off from sister network Hallmark Cha ...
were dropped by
AT&T U-verse U-verse TV is a DirecTV brand of IPTV service. Launched on June 26, 2006, U-verse included broadband Internet (now AT&T Internet or AT&T Fiber), IP telephone (now AT&T Phone), and IPTV (U-verse TV) services in 48 states.carriage dispute A carriage dispute is a disagreement over the right to "carry", that is, retransmit, a broadcaster's signal. Carriage disputes first occurred between broadcasters and cable companies and now include direct broadcast satellite and other multicha ...
resulting from a proposed increase in
retransmission consent Retransmission consent is a provision of the 1992 United States Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act that requires cable operators and other multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to obtain permission from commer ...
payments that U-verse considered to be disproportionate with the lower audience viewership for the channels at the time. As of July 23, 2015, both channels returned to U-verse. In 2011, Hallmark started its animal-featuring shows with Hero Dog Awards. Its 2014 Kitten Bowl, up against the Super Bowl, got 1 million viewers. Jingle, the husky pup (a Hallmark merchandising character), was featured in an animated Christmas special, ''
Jingle All the Way ''Jingle All the Way'' is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Brian Levant. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as two rival fathers, mattress salesman Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) and postal worker Myron Larab ...
'', on November 25, 2011. In 2012, "Christmas in July" programming was launched over a weekend to promote Hallmark Cards' new holiday ornaments debut and became an annual event. In the fourth quarter of 2012, Hallmark Channel did a makeover of its daytime schedule. The channel launched a ''Marie!'' talk show starring
Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television host, and a member of the show business family the Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a country and pop ...
, and ''
Home & Family ''Home & Family'' (formerly ''The Home and Family Show'') is an American daytime talk show. The series originally premiered on April 1, 1996, on The Family Channel, and was dropped by the network immediately prior to its 1998 relaunch as the Fox ...
'', while running repeats of three MSLO programs. Two TV pilot movies, '' Cedar Cove'' and ''
When Calls the Heart ''When Calls the Heart'' is an American television drama series, inspired by Janette Oke's book of the same name from her ''Canadian West series'', and developed by Michael Landon Jr. The series began airing on the Hallmark Channel in the Uni ...
'', both book adaptations, were also shown. ''Home & Family'' was previously on The Family Channel. ''Cedar Cove'' was ordered to a series, the channel's first prime time original series, in October 2012 even before its January 2013 movie premiere. and ''When Calls'' was also picked up as a series. However, Marie! was canceled after its first season. With the 2011–2012 season, ABC picked up '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'' with the Hallmark Channel showing each episode a week later. The Hall of Fame series was moved from ABC to Hallmark with the 2014–2015 season and would air as many as four times a year. The first episode to debut on Hallmark Channel was ''One Christmas Eve'', starring Anne Heche. On the cable channel, four original movies at most would air as a part of the Hall of Fame with multiple encores. The HHOF library would also be available. On March 15, 2013, the channel introduced a new family-oriented Friday night movie block, ''Walden Family Theater'', in partnership with
Walden Media Walden Media, LLC or Walden Media is an American film investor, distributor, and publishing company. Its films are based on children's literature, biographies or historical events, as well as documentaries and some original screenplays. The corpo ...
and others. In an unusual deal in 2013, CBS syndicated ''
The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in l ...
'' to Hallmark, two streaming services and TV stations, who got the shows on weekends. While the show met its good story-telling goal with the series showing four hours in prime time, the channel pulled the show after many months as it did not fit in other ways. Two new series, '' Good Witch'' and ''Sign, Sealed, Delivered'', were picked up for the 2014–2015 season. Sign comes from Martha Williamson, while the Good Witch was transitioning from a
movie series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...
. In February 2015, the channel aired its first "Countdown to Valentine's" programming event based on its success with "Countdown to Christmas" accounting for 30% of annual ad revenue. In April 2014, the channel launched a
TV Everywhere TV Everywhere (also known as authenticated streaming or authenticated video on-demand) refers to a type of subscription business model wherein access to streaming video content from a television channel requires users to "authenticate" themse ...
video on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
service, "Hallmark Channel Everywhere", which offers a streaming selection of Hallmark Channel films and series for subscribers on participating television providers. At some point before July 2021, the name of the app was changed to "Hallmark TV". In 2015, Mariah Carey directed and starred in a Christmas movie for Hallmark. She also hosted ''Mariah Carey's Merriest Christmas'', which was the channel's most-viewed show. Thus in May 2016, Carey signed a three-telefilm deal for her to develop, executive-produce, direct, costar, and write an original song for three movies with one for "Countdown to Valentine's Day". The channel's first "Winterfest" seasonal programming was in January 2016. At its March 2016
upfronts In the television industry, an upfront is a gathering at the start of important advertising sales periods, held by television network executives and attended by major advertisers and the media. It is so named because of its main purpose, to allow ...
, Hallmark Channel executives revealed that they planned to divide their programming into themed seasons year-round, to build upon the success of Countdown to Christmas and other franchises. On October 20, 2016, Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel were added to the Sling TV service. On November 15, 2017, PlayStation Vue added Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama to its lineup. In October 2017, Hallmark Channel launched a new,
over-the-top An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributors ...
subscription service known as
Hallmark Movies Now Hallmark Movies Now (formerly called Feeln and originally SpiritClips) is an on-demand streaming video service that offers family-friendly movies, documentaries and short films. The company was founded in 2007 by Academy Award-winning producer ...
, which features new and existing original content from the network. In October 2018, the three Hallmark linear channels were added to streaming service
Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...
. With
SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sa ...
, Crown Media launched the Hallmark Channel Radio channel on November 1, 2018, as 24/7 holiday music format as a part of the network's "Countdown to Christmas" campaign. Network talent would introduce the music and include behind the scenes segments from its holiday movies. In November 2017, the channel beat all four major broadcast networks in the ratings one night with its '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'' movie, ''The Christmas Train''. In March 2019, Hallmark announced it had dropped Lori Loughlin from future company projects due to her role in the
2019 college admissions bribery scandal In 2019, a scandal arose over a criminal conspiracy to influence undergraduate admissions decisions at several top American universities. The investigation into the conspiracy was code named Operation Varsity Blues. The investigation and rela ...
. In December 2019, the channel stopped airing advertisements for the online wedding registry Zola.com that included two brides kissing each other, because of complaints that it was lesbians kissing and promoted
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
s. A main complainant was One Million Moms, a division of the socially conservative American Family Association, which has been described as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...
. Similar advertisements with heterosexual couples kissing were not pulled. As a result, social media users called for a boycott of the channel, while competitors like
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
and the
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
-owned Freeform cable channel responded by touting their
LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...
inclusivity. On December 15, Hallmark reversed its decision and said it would reinstate the advertisements and work with GLAAD, an LGBTQ media monitoring organization, to create more inclusive programming. The series finale of '' Good Witch'', which aired in July 2021, featured the first lesbian kiss in a Hallmark production.


Programming

Hallmark Channel's programming consists of classic and some recent/original television series, and original
made-for-TV movies A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
. It also airs the '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'' anthology series. Original programs broadcast on the network include the daytime talk show ''
Home & Family ''Home & Family'' (formerly ''The Home and Family Show'') is an American daytime talk show. The series originally premiered on April 1, 1996, on The Family Channel, and was dropped by the network immediately prior to its 1998 relaunch as the Fox ...
'' (which originated on Freeform when it was known as The Family Channel, in April 1996) and ''
When Calls the Heart ''When Calls the Heart'' is an American television drama series, inspired by Janette Oke's book of the same name from her ''Canadian West series'', and developed by Michael Landon Jr. The series began airing on the Hallmark Channel in the Uni ...
'' (which is based on the novels by
Janette Oke Janette Oke (née Steeves; born February 18, 1935) (pronounced "oak") is a Canadian author of inspirational fiction. Her books are often set in a pioneer era and centered on female protagonists. Her first novel, ''Love Comes Softly'', was publi ...
). The network's original programming initially consisted mainly of lifestyle programs and made-for-TV movies; Hallmark Channel debuted its first prime time original scripted series in July 2013, with the premiere of '' Cedar Cove'' (which is based on the novels by
Debbie Macomber Debbie Macomber (born October 22, 1948) is an American author of romance novels and contemporary women's fiction. Six of her novels have become made-for-TV movies and her ''Cedar Cove'' series of novels was adapted into a Cedar Cove (TV series), t ...
).


Original movies

The network's made-for-TV movies are characterized as family-friendly and inspirational, ranging from holiday-themed films to
western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
s. In the early stages of the channel's development, Hallmark Channel had a steady one-movie-a-month, or 12-a-year, production schedule with the films mainly being produced by
RHI Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...
. However, in 2008, Crown Media had ramped up its production schedule to approximately 30 movies a year and opened up two other production companies, though RHI still produces some movies for Hallmark Channel. The network premiered 35 original movies during the period from 2009 to 2010. Hallmark original movies were budgeted at $2.2 million in 2007. Hallmark does not pay the full cost of films, thus the production company deficit-financed them.


Series

* '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'': Originally only an encore or library home for the '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'' anthology film series, the series moved its original showings to the channel in 2014. * ''Mystery Movie'' (also ''Hallmark Channel Mystery Wheel''): The channel began a Sunday night mystery movie
wheel series A wheel series, wheel show, wheel format or umbrella series is a television series in which two or more regular programs are rotated in the same time slot. Sometimes the wheel series is given its own umbrella title and promoted as a single unit ins ...
called ''Mystery Movie'' in 2004. This wheel series consisted of four individual movie series of four films that would also be later shown on Hallmark Movie Channel. Two of the film series were ''
Mystery Woman ''Mystery Woman'' is the name of a series of 11 made-for-television mystery films released by the Hallmark Channel between 2003 and 2007, and now appearing regularly on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. While on the Hallmark Channel, it was broadca ...
'' and ''
Jane Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...
''. A successor series, ''Original Mystery Wheel'', was established in 2015 on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. * ''Walden Family Theater'' (2013) On March 15, 2013, the channel started its family friendly Friday night movie series, ''Walden Family Theater'' in partnership with
Walden Media Walden Media, LLC or Walden Media is an American film investor, distributor, and publishing company. Its films are based on children's literature, biographies or historical events, as well as documentaries and some original screenplays. The corpo ...
, Arc Entertainment,
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...
and
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
. P&G and Walmart were sponsoring partners with Walmart selling the movies DVD in store the Tuesday after airing, while Arc and Walden were producing partners. The first movie was the world premiere of ''
Return to Nim's Island Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...
'', one of six new films produced for the series. '' Space Warriors'' was shown later in the premier season, with additional films drawn from Hallmark's library of films. The series' second season was launched on September 6, 2013, with the premiere of the film, ''Dear Dumb Diary'' based upon the Scholastic book, with the Civil Rights era drama ''The Watsons Go to Birmingham'' premiering next.


Seasonal programming

Hallmark Channel is known for scheduling themed programming around major holidays such as
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
,
Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...
, and
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...
—including new original movies relevant to said holiday. With the introduction of its "Countdown to Christmas" branding in 2009, the channel gradually expanded the number of seasonal programming events it holds. By 2016, the network had divided its schedule into themed "seasons" year-round, with original programming aligned with these themes. Crown Media's then-CEO Bill Abbott explained that this strategy allowed the network to be positioned as "a year-round destination for celebrations", which need not depend on a single series or franchise to bolster its viewership. This programming strategy also creates synergies with
Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a private, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was award ...
. * "Winterfest" (2016–2020) is broadcast in January; its first original film was ''Love In Paradise''. As of 2021, it is called New Year New Movies! * "Countdown To Valentine's Day" (2015–2019) is broadcast in February. In 2015, the event was 15 days long with four original movie premieres. In 2020 and 2021, this seasonal block of movies was named Love Ever After. In 2022, it has been renamed Loveuary. * "Spring into Love", formerly "Spring Fling" and "Spring Fever", is broadcast in March and April. In 2018 and 2019, this seasonal block of movies was named Spring Fever. In 2020 and 2021, it was called Spring Fling. In 2022, it has been renamed Spring Into Love. * "Countdown to Summer" was a one time event with 5 movies in May 2020. * "Summer Nights" (2016–present) is broadcast June through August. In 2017, Summer Nights movies were only shown in August. In 2018 and 2019, Summer Nights movies were shown in July and August. In 2020, there were only 3 Summer Nights movies in August to go along with the 5 Countdown to Summer movies in May. In 2021, Summer Nights movies were split up into 2 parts, with the first part being all in June, then taking over a month break, with the second part starting the last week of July, going through all of August, and ending the first week of September. * "June Weddings" (2017–2019) was broadcast in June. It has been on hiatus on Hallmark Channel starting in 2020. * "Fall Harvest" (2015–present) airs during September and most of October, primarily airing autumn-themed movies (sometimes relating to Halloween). In 2016 and 2019, Fall Harvest movies only aired in October. * "Five Nights Stuffed Full of Original Holiday Movies" (2015–present), which airs near
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
.


Countdown to Christmas

From the last weekend in October until
January 1 January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
, Hallmark Channel runs a seasonal block called ''Countdown to Christmas'', featuring a mix of holiday movies, specials and holiday-themed original programming. The block is branded as ''Countdown to New Years'' from December 26 until January 1 and culminates with the channel's broadcast of the
Tournament of Roses Parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
. Countdown to Christmas started in 2009, while the channel's first holiday original movie was aired in 2000. Hallmark characters, Hoops & Yoyo, hosted Friday "Movie Night", starting in 2009 during the Countdown. Countdown had 12 original movies in 2013 and 21 in 2016. Actresses frequently featured in the channel's Christmas films (dubbed the "Queens of Christmas") include
Rachel Boston Rachel Elizabeth Boston (born May 9, 1982) is an American actress and producer. Boston has had leading roles in a number of independent films, and was a regular cast member in several television series. She starred in the NBC drama series, ''Amer ...
, Candace Cameron Bure (who does other work for Hallmark Channel, mainly as Aurora Teagarden),
Lacey Chabert Lacey Nicole Chabert ( ; born September 30, 1982) is an American actress. One of her first roles was playing Erica Kane's daughter on ''All My Children''. She was the third actress to play Bianca Montgomery, playing the part from 1992 until 1993. ...
, Erin Krakow,
Kellie Martin Kellie Martin (born October 16, 1975) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rebecca "Becca" Thatcher in '' Life Goes On'' (1989–1993), Lucy Knight on '' ER'' (1998–2000), Samantha Kinsey in the '' Mystery Woman'' TV film seri ...
,
Danica McKellar Danica Mae McKellar (born January 3, 1975) is an American actress, mathematics writer, and education advocate. She played Winnie Cooper in the television series '' The Wonder Years'' from 1988 to 1993, and since 2010 has voiced Miss Martian in t ...
,
Autumn Reeser Autumn Reeser (born September 21, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Taylor Townsend on the Fox series '' The O.C.'', Lizzie Grant on HBO's '' Entourage'', Katie Andrews on ABC's ''No Ordinary Family'', and Leslie Bel ...
and
Alicia Witt Alicia Roanne Witt (born August 21, 1975) is an American actress, singer and pianist. She first came to fame as a child actress after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her in '' Dune'' (1984) and '' Twin Peaks'' (1990). Witt had a critic ...
. Hallmark's "Christmas TV ratings system" has designations like "F for Family" and "J for Joy". Since 2012, the network has held a
Christmas in July Christmas in July, Christmas in Summer or Christmas in Winter is a second Christmas celebration held around the summer season, mainly during July. It is centered around Christmas-themed activities and entertainment, including small gatherings, se ...
event with airings of past Hallmark Channel Christmas movies, which is used to promote Hallmark Cards' collectibles for the upcoming season. In 2013, the event included holiday tips from the cast of ''Home & Family''. In 2014, the event added a theatrical movie premiere. By 2015, the event included one new original movie. In 2014, the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Cards collaborated for the first time on a movie, '' Northpole'', which was shown during Countdown to Christmas. During the 2017 holiday season, the Hallmark Channel premiered 33 original Christmas holiday films, up from a total of 28 holiday movies in 2016. As of 2017, Hallmark had a total of 136 Christmas holiday-themed movies in their original library of films. For 2018, a satellite radio companion to the event was carried on Sirius XM—"Hallmark Channel Radio"—which carried Christmas music hosted by Hallmark Channel talent (such as
Holly Robinson Peete Holly Elizabeth Robinson Peete (born September 18, 1964) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Judy Hoffs on the Fox police drama ''21 Jump Street'', Vanessa Russell on the ABC sitcom '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'', and ...
and Lacey Chabert), and behind-the-scenes features relating to Countdown to Christmas programming. In honor of the franchise's 10th anniversary, Countdown to Christmas movies aired on Friday nights throughout 2019, and a "Hallmark Channel Christmas Con" was held in Edison,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
in November 2019, featuring appearances by Hallmark Channel talent.'


Animal special franchise

With the success of the Dog Hero Awards, the channel started a franchise out of the show with additional shows that counter programming major sporting events. Beyond the Dog Hero Awards and the Kitten Bowl, the channel has Paw-Star Game, on during MLB's All-Star Game, and Summer Kitten Games countering in its first showing the Rio Olympics. On February 2, 2014, the Hallmark Channel partnered with New York's North Shore Animal League and Last Hope Animal Rescue to debut the ''Kitten Bowl'' during
Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...
. The event – hosted by
Beth Stern Beth Ostrosky Stern (born July 15, 1972) is an American actress, author, model, and animal-rights activist. Early life Stern was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Judy (), is a former model and her father, Robert Ostrosky, is a ...
and announcers John Sterling and
Mary Carillo Mary Carillo (born March 15, 1957) is an American sportscaster and former professional tennis player. She is an analyst for '' Tennis on NBC'' and a reporter for NBC Olympic broadcasts. Career Tennis Carillo played on the women's professional ...
 – is designed as counterprogramming to the Super Bowl and airs during the game's halftime show, and is similar to another animal-themed event that debuted nine years earlier on
Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...
, the
Puppy Bowl The ''Puppy Bowl'' is an annual television program on Animal Planet that mimics an American football game similar to the Super Bowl, using puppies. Shown each year on Super Bowl Sunday, the show consists of footage of a batch of puppies at play ...
. ''Kitten Bowl II'' returned on February 1, 2015, and was watched by 1.3 million viewers. A new Kitten Bowl has aired every year since, running repeatedly on Super Bowl Sunday in a three-hour program that includes "playoff games". In 2019 Hallmark added ''Cat Bowl'', which premiered on Super Bowl weekend. The eighth and last edition of the Kitten Bowl aired in 2021, as Hallmark canceled it in 2022.


Content standards

The Hallmark Channel has been criticized for editing its programming to remove what its Standards and Practices department considers offensive words. After the word "God" was muted in April 2014 from the film '' It Could Happen to You'', in what is described as an attempt "to avoid taking His name in vain", the practice backfired when viewers interpreted the muting as evidence of hatred for God. Blogger Donna Cavanagh criticized the channel's content policies in July 2011, describing them as "censorship at its worst", with removal of profanities or epithets such as "ass" and "hooker". In response to Cavanagh's inquiry, a representative of the network wrote: Cavanagh accused the network of hypocrisy in deeming such material as being objectionable according to the network's standards, while continuing to acquire off-network sitcoms such as ''
Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...
'' and '' The Golden Girls'', which often feature sexual content including references to promiscuity. Others have recommended the channel's late night programming, while noting that the word removal from these programs "puts a mild damper on the fun."


International versions

Hallmark Channel operated several cable channels in various international markets; they were sold in 2005 to Sparrowhawk Media, which was in turn acquired by
Universal Networks International NBCUniversal International Networks, formerly NBC Universal Global Networks and Universal Networks International, is a part of NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast. History When NBCUniversal was formed in 2004, it owned many entertainment television ch ...
in 2007. Universal's licensing agreement ended in July 2011; the networks were either shut down, or rebranded under another
NBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
-owned brand (such as
Diva Universal Diva, formerly Diva Universal, is a woman-based entertainment channel owned by Universal Networks International. The list of Diva channels includes: * Diva (Asia TV channel) ''defunct'' *Diva Universal (Philippines) ''defunct'' * Diva (Finland) ' ...
,
Studio Universal ''Studio Universal'' is a specialty television channel focused on films, owned by Universal Networks International. The programming is based on films (mainly from Universal Studios movies catalogue) and related programs with interviews, insight ...
,
13th Street Universal 13th Street (France: 13ème Rue, Spain: Calle 13, Hungary: Utca 13, and Poland: 13 Ulica) is a television channel specializing in action, suspense and police procedural programs and movies, mainly from the Universal Pictures and Television libr ...
or
Universal Channel Universal TV, formerly Universal Channel, is an international pay television network specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, horror, crime and investigation genres, owned by NBCUniversal International Netwo ...
). In the United Kingdom, the Hallmark Original Movies originally shown on the channel are now shown on
Movies 24 Movies 24 is a British pay television channel owned by NBCUniversal and operated by Sky Group. It was launched on 26 June 2006 for Sky broadcasting. The channel is popular for showing Hallmark television films, and television shows which were or ...
, a sister to the Hallmark Channel. On October 25, 2018,
Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
announced that
W Network W Network (often shortened to W) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts general entertainment programming oriented towards a female audience. W Network was established in ...
would become the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of Hallmark Channel original series and films beginning November 1. The agreement includes branded blocks of Hallmark Channel programming, and airings of seasonal events such as Countdown to Christmas (which launched the agreement).


See also

* List of ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'' episodes


References


External links

* {{U.S. family-oriented television channels Studio City, Los Angeles Television networks in the United States Conservative media in the United States English-language television stations in the United States Television channels and stations established in 1984 1984 establishments in the United States