ESPN continued its strong fall season ratings run, topping the primetime ratings chart for the third consecutive week.

The sports network averaged 2.3 million viewers during the week of November 28 to December 4 to beat out second-place Fox News Channel, which averaged 1.9 million viewers for the week, according to Nielsen.

Hallmark Channel continued to ride its "Countdown to Christmas" slate of holiday films to a strong ratings performance, finishing third with 1.3 million viewers, followed by MSNBC's 1.2 million viewers and HGTV's 799,000 watchers.

Also: Cable Nets, Streamers Ramp Up Holiday Films Lineup Leading Into Christmas

Rounding out the top 10 most-watched networks in primetime were Paramount Network (793,000 viewers), TLC (773,000), History (761,000), USA Network (680,000) and Food Network (673,000).

Fox News topped the total day charts with an average of 1.3 million viewers — its 48th consecutive win in the category — followed by ESPN (770,000 viewers), MSNBC (751,000), Hallmark Channel (731,000) and CNN (495,000), reported Nielsen. ■ 

Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas original holiday movies lineup delivered a big primetime ratings performance for the network during the Thanksgiving holiday week.

Hallmark Channel averaged 1.7 million viewers in primetime on the strength of seven holiday film premieres during the week of November 21 to November 27, finishing only behind ESPN’s 3 million viewers, according to Nielsen. The sports network notched its second-straight primetime win behind its Monday Night Football and college football game telecasts.

Also: Hallmark Channel's ‘Three Wise Men and a Baby’ Holiday Movie Delivers Ratings Gift

Fox News finished third for the week with 1.6 million viewers, followed by Paramount Network, which averaged 1.1 million viewers. MSNBC pulled into the fifth spot with 791,000 viewers, followed by HGTV’s 702,000 watchers.

TLC finished seventh with 699,000 viewers, followed by Food Network (695,000 viewers), History (658,000) and INSP (657,000).

Fox News held on to the top spot on the total day chart for the 47th consecutive week with an average of 1.2 million viewers, followed by ESPN (1 million viewers), Hallmark Channel (878,000), World Cup-infused FS1 (589,000) and MSNBC (556,000), according to Nielsen. ■

Hallmark Channel’s original holiday film Three Wise Men and a Baby delivered the biggest audience of the year for a cable original movie in its November 19 premiere, according to network officials.

The film, which follows three bickering brothers who find themselves caring for a baby anonymously left in their care, averaged 3.6 million viewers according to Nielsen ratings provided by Hallmark. The film stars Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell. 

Three Wise Men and a Baby -- which also features Margaret Colin who starred in the 1987 Three Men and a Baby theatrical film -- is the most-watched entry of Hallmark’s Countdown for Christmas offering of 40 original holiday films which debuted in late October. 

Also: Weekly Cable Ratings: ESPN Returns to Top Spot in Primetime

The films have helped Hallmark Channel finish among the top five most-watched networks for the month of November, according to Nielsen.■

Hallmark Media is making a selection of its holiday movies available in Spanish via free streaming service Canela.TV. 

The programmer inked a deal back in October to distribute its movies in Spanish via the streaming platform.

“As Hispanic families gather for the holidays, these Hallmark holiday movies on Canela.TV will surely add to the joy of the season,” Canela.TV CEO Isabel Rafferty Zavala said.

In addition to the U.S., the New York-based Canela.TV, which reaches upwards of 50 million unique users across more than 180 Spanish-language websites, is also available in Mexico and Colombia.

Among the titles available in the deal are Christmas Made to Order (Navidad a la Medida), Open by Christmas (La Tarjeta de Navidad) and  Jingle Bell Bride (La Novia de Navidad).

Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries blanket (cocoa optional) the holiday season from Halloween to New Year’s Day with nonstop holiday movies. ▪️

At a handful of Hilton's this holiday season, it will be all about the Hallmark.

The Hallmark Channel began its ratings juggernaut "Countdown to Christmas" movie marathon this year even before Halloween and Hilton wants some of that holiday magic to rub off on travelers as it competes with Airbnb and other services offering homes as alternatives to hotels.

"When you feel like coming home for the holidays," Hilton said in announcing the partnership, "it matters where you stay," the tagline it has been using on ads suggesting the potential "nightmares" of staying in someone else's house.

To help sell the hominess of Hilton, the company has set up Hallmark Movie themed suites at three hotels--the "Cozy Christmas" Suite in Chicago, the "SoCal Christmas" suite in San Diego and the "Glam Christmas" Suite in Las Vegas.

Also:  Peacock Streams Hallmark Channels

Hallmark helped Hilton decorate the suites including everything from a custom-crocheted Christmas Tree and a gingerbread hotel against a Chicago skyline to a snow cone machine in the SoCal Christmas suite to a tinsel-bedecked ceiling and a wall of sequined "holiday trees" in Vegas.

There will even be a Christmas tree lighting at 8 p.m. every night in each suite, which will also be fitted out with a collection of old and new Hallmark Movies, plus popcorn and movie snacks. 

“Our goal during the holidays is to provide ways for people to enjoy the ultimate, most sensationally memorable Christmas experience, and this collaboration truly delivers,” said Hallmark chief marketing officer Lara Richardson.

Crown Media Family Networks is once again spreading holiday tidings — and strong ratings cheer — with its annual lineup of holiday movies. Crown Media‘s Hallmark Channel, which launched its schedule of 30 new original holiday movie premieres in October, finished the month as the most watched cable network among female viewers and as a top five-rated cable network in primetime, bolstered by its original holiday movies. 

Leading the network’s programming charge is recently named Crown Media Family Networks executive VP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly, who is overseeing original programming for Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and streaming service Hallmark Movies Now. 

Daly, a former Netflix and Lifetime programming executive, recently spoke to Multichannel News to discuss her programming vision for the Crown Media services. She also opines on the competition within the holiday programming genre as well as on potential future programming offerings from the network. An edited version of the interview appears below. 

Picture This: Did you have to  go through a major transition moving from the streaming and studio production side to focusing on family-targeted programming for cable networks? 

Lisa Hamilton Daly: I had worked at Netflix and I also worked at Lifetime … I wasn’t exactly working on super family programming, but it was female-focused programming, which is very much in the Hallmark genre. The only thing different that you have to be aware of is creating content that pauses for ads. I’m really working in the same world of female-focused, very emotion-driven content, so it's not a big stretch.

PT: How would you define the Hallmark brand with regards to its original programming offerings?

LHD: I think that Hallmark is invested in high-quality, emotionally-driven programming. That's why I really like it, as well as people who are looking for positivity and a bit of an escape from everyday life. I think it's very female-focused for the most part — I know there are a lot of male fans — but it‘s a world where women can come in and see their happy ending and have a little bit of an escape and aspirational fun. I think that‘s something that is really important … there are not a lot of outlets for that in the marketplace. That’s what I think makes Hallmark so unique.

PT: Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas offering has drawn numerous competitors over the years, so how does the network continue to differentiate itself from others in the marketplace? 

LHD: That’s a really interesting question. I think that a lot of people who are watching holiday movies on other channels think they’re watching Hallmark movies. Hallmark is so identified with Christmas that they dominate the brand of holiday. I think people try things to tinker with the formula, but Hallmark stays within the formula and we find so many fresh ways to express it. We’ve also expanded our brand experience to include so many other things including food, wine, games and music that live that Hallmark lifestyle. We have Hallmark [Club Wyndham] hotel suites this year — I have a friend who told me she’s already booked one in Tennessee. People just want to go live that entire Hallmark life and feel like they‘re walking into one of those movies. I think more than any of our competitors, who by the way do wonderful work themselves, Hallmark really owns the brand in a way that other people want to, but just don’t yet.

PT: Having said that, are you concerned that there may be too much holiday-themed content in the marketplace?

LHD: It’s certainly something to think about, but I think as long as we still feel like we’re telling fun, fresh stories, we’ll continue to be successful. We’re looking to tell stories just beyond romantic love stories, so there are a lot of areas to mine to freshen up the holiday content.

PT: Hallmark is perennially a top 10-rated cable network in primetime throughout the year. What keeps the network so popular with viewers beyond its signature holiday movie fare?

LHD: Hallmark has a really unique brand proposition. I think people know what they’re going to get when they turn to the channel. They know that they’re going to find a world where there's a bit of an order, and things work out for people. I think in a world of chaos and uncertainty, that sense of beauty and order that exists in a Hallmark movie really feels good to them. People fall in love, families come together and when those things happen it really feels good to people.

PT: What should we look for in terms of new programming from Hallmark?

LHD: I just got here, but we’ve identified a couple of things that we want to do. I think we're looking for some ways to spice up Christmas — maybe some different formats. I don‘t want to say too much yet, but I think we‘re flirting with some ideas to just mix it up a little. We‘re looking to find some fresh content, maybe in the series world. We have seasonal stunts year round, and we‘re starting to map out all of those as well. We're definitely firing on all cylinders right now.

PT: How many original scripted series will Hallmark look to offer in 2022?

LHD: I think we have about three series a year roughly. Good Witch just finished, so we'll be looking for a series to replace it. We have a couple other series that are ongoing. We also may be making some series for our SVOD streaming service, Hallmark Movies Now, which should be really fun.

PT: Are there any other genres that you’d like to explore?

LHD: I think unscripted would be a really interesting place to explore. We haven‘t made any decisions around that yet, but I think it‘d be a great brand extension. I love thinking about what Hallmark could look like as a lifestyle brand. I think we‘re also thinking about what comedy would look like on Hallmark. I think we‘re really open and thinking forward about what could really help engage our audiences further.

PT: From your perspective, what does Hallmark Channel’s programming strategy look like in 2022?

LHD: My desire is to tell a really wide range of stories inside the Hallmark brand. I think that Hallmark is for everybody, and I really want to be sure that we're telling everyone's stories and really bringing them into the family

PT: Does that include a more diverse lineup of content?

LHD: Yes. My biggest goal is to be more inclusive and to really explore what that means for so many different kinds of people.

PT: Where does streaming fit into Hallmark’s overall content distribution strategy?

LHD: I think that we‘re certainly looking around at the success of streaming and thinking about what that could look like for us and thinking about shows that could be on there. We have a robust library of our content already, so we’re thinking of how to put more of our series on there so people can catch up, or to have our Christmas stuff available year round, and overall thinking about what would be fun to be on there that‘s new. I certainly think about that all the time: Is it more rom-coms? Is it more series? I think it can only get better.

Crown Media has updated its Hallmark Movie Checklist app to include a countdown widget.

The countdown clock will end with the season's first Hallmark Holiday original movie Oct. 22, then reset to countdown to Christmas Day.

Tap the widget and it takes the user to the Movie Checklist app on Android and iOS devices.

The app update was unveiled during Hallmark Channel's Christmas in July programming stunt.

Also Read: Hallmark Movies: Everything You Need to Know About the Middle America-targeted Brand's Quest to Take Over Video Streaming

Crown also added an "upcoming" widget to the checklist app, which provides the entire Hallmark linear schedule--Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama--including notations for titles that have been selected by users as their "favorites" and "want to watch."

What’s more, the app also launched an Upcoming Widget that offers the entire Hallmark linear schedule -- across Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama -- on a user’s home screen, featuring titles that users have selected as “Favorites” and “Want to Watch.”

 While COVID-19 has altered some traditions — the Kentucky Derby, 4th of July fireworks, the upfront — Crown Media Family Networks expects to benefit from some things that won’t change.

“While there’s a lot of uncertainty, one thing we know for sure that will not be canceled is Christmas,” Ed Georger, executive VP for sales at Crown, said.

Christmas means big ratings for Crown, which will be running holiday programming 24/7 on its two main networks, Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, as part of its 10th “Countdown to Christmas.”

The upfront market, usually mostly done by July 4, is running late as marketers try to figure out how to do business in a pandemic. Georger thinks Crown’s upfront will be more “normal” than other media companies because many of its advertisers are in categories that are likely to be comfortable making upfront deals now, such as consumer packaged goods, insurance and pharmaceuticals.

“That group will commit probably to a more traditional broadcast year upfront, and for us, I think that’s going to be a lot of our businesses,” he said. 

Deals Still Pending

Crown hasn’t closed any upfront deals yet, Georger said. “We're in discussions with most of the major [agency] groups. My feeling is they still are trying to assess the temperature and the tolerance of their clients.”

Another group in more challenged categories, like automotive and retail, will place fourth-quarter budgets and delay the rest of their negotiations until October or November. “Or maybe we’ll negotiate that now, knowing there’s going to be flexibility on those orders, and that’s fine too,” Georger said. “We can work within those parameters.” 

The last group — travel, cruise lines, quick-serve restaurants — aren’t big spenders at Hallmark. They may buy in scatter or shift to a calendar year upfront.

In addition to flexibility — the ability to adjust schedules to solve clients’ issues — the big talking points in the upfront seem to be transparency and trust. Crown earned some trust by working with advertisers in the turbulent days of April and May. That paid off when third-quarter options came in lower than expected, Georger said, and as the scatter market improved in June. “We have a business to run, too, but I think making some short-term adjustments and sacrifices as good partners should ultimately come back around,” he said. 

Crown’s networks will also benefit from the kind of feel-good content they offer. Amid news about viruses and elections, “there’s going to be more of a need than ever arguably to feel good and escape, and that holiday will bring out that spirit. Our commitment to our holiday programming will play very well for us,” Georger said, adding that a lot of holiday commercials are emotional. “They’re connecting people and that plays very well in our environment.”

Production Delays

The pandemic has affected TV production. but Hallmark has managed to crank out the 40 original holiday movies that had been planned. Hallmark also has a vault full of holiday movies that fans watch over and over, and the top films from 2018 and 2019 will find their way into this year’s Countdown to Christmas.

The network expects to generate some attention when it rolls out its slate of new Christmas movies and makes a series of high profile casting announcements.

And with Universal Studios reopening, Hallmark Channel will be able to restart its daytime Home & Family show. 

“There’s a level of reliability in what we’ll be doing in the fourth quarter, so in a time of uncertainty, there’s certainly some advantages to having our strategy set in place,” Georger said. 

As Crown Media-owned Hallmark Channel launches the 10th anniversary of its Countdown To Christmas lineup of 40 original holiday-themed movies, Crown Media Family Networks president and CEO  Bill Abbott talks about the ratings success of the programming franchise as well as the network's other seasonally-themed programming offerings. In addition, Abbott gives his thoughts on the future of the emerging digital streaming subscription video on demand (SVOD) platform in an new MCN original video segment.  

Hallmark Channel will mark 10 years of its “Countdown to Christmas” holiday movie stunt with more than 40 originals airing on Hallmark and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries over the next three months, beginning Oct. 26. Crown Media Family Networks president and CEO Bill Abbott spoke with Multichannel News about the success of the programming franchise — last year’s edition drew a cumulative 70 million unique viewers — as well as some of the challenges facing Crown. Here’s an edited version of the interview.

MCN:Why has “Countdown to Christmas” resonated with viewers for the past 10 years?

Bill Abbott: The movies are very high quality. We’ve made a lot of progress in terms of the quality of our content. Also, we take great care in the commercial environment that we put our movies in. We don’t accept commercials that would make viewers uncomfortable. We also create interstitial content around our movies that makes people feel at home.

RELATED: Diversity Comes Home for the Holidays

MCN:Do you worry about an increase in competition surrounding holiday programming, and has the genre become diluted?

BA: Certainly it has around the margins. There’s no question that your business gets impacted with increased competition. But at the end of the day, Hallmark is so synonymous with holiday — and our content is done in a way that we think is at the highest level of quality — so I believe that we will be in a good position.

MCN: How have advertisers embraced ‘Countdown to Christmas’ over the years?

BA: We’re doing a lot more business with financial services, automotive and travel -- categories that you wouldn’t necessarily associate our brand. Also the typical retail, packaged goods, pharmaceutical categories have also stepped up in a big way. The marketplace has embraced the success. 

MCN: Have you benefited from expanding the “Countdown to Christmas’ brand outside of television? 

BA:We believe music is the key driver of emotions -- especially at Christmas -- so within the music space our deal with SiriusXM for a dedicated Hallmark Channel Radio [channel] in November and December has been successful. We have a publishing division that publishes Christmas books and is becoming more prolific in that area. Digitally, our Countdown To Christmas app is vibrant and very popular in terms of sending reminders about when our content is on. On the SVOD side, Hallmark Movies Now is prolific in terms of the [holiday] content that exists on that platform.

MCN:What are some of the overall challenges in this crowded TV environment?

BA: We’ve had great success on the [SVOD] side — we have over 700,000 subscribers. We’re not trying to compete with Netflix, but we’re in the space in a big way with differentiated content. That said, I think the $5.99-a-month math doesn’t necessarily add up the same way it does on the linear model. I think the whole entertainment business is challenged with making the SVOD model work, along with making more comparable the value of the SVOD subscriber versus the value of the subscriber on the linear side. Right now, there’s a big gap, and it’s a big challenge for everyone moving forward in the business.

Hallmark channel’s annual ‘‘Countdown to Christmas” holiday programming stunt is delivering gifts for parent Crown Media holdings in both ratings and advertising. Hallmark tied ESPN as the most-watched cable network in primetime from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2, its first weekly its first weekly ratings win of the year.

Since launching its block of 22 original, family-friendly holiday films in late October, Hallmark is averaging more than 2 million viewers in primetime, double its tally during the third quarter. The first 14 of those telefilms — including Road to Christmas and A Shoe Addict’s Christmas — have averaged 3.6 million viewers.

On the advertising front, Hallmark and sibling Hallmark Movies & Mysteries garnered double-digit increases in price and volume within the upfronts and scatter markets due to the ratings success of Countdown to Christmas, according to Ed Georger, Crown Media Family Networks executive vice president of advertising sales and digital media. New this season: a Hallmark-branded SiriusXM satellite radio channel featuring holiday music and behind-scenes content from upcoming holiday movies, and an official Hallmark Channels podcast that launched Dec. 14.

Crown Media Family Networks president and CEO Bill Abbott spoke with Multichannel News about the network’s successful holiday programming run.

MCN: What is the secret sauce behind Hallmark’s continued success with its holiday-themed, original movie lineup?
Bill Abbott: First and foremost, we have a brand that’s synonymous with the holidays, so we have a huge head start going into the holiday season. It’s hard to make that pivot to become a holiday content provider when you’ve been something very different all year long. Secondly, our content just gets better every year. We have worked, as you know, very hard on our story, scripts, casting, production value, music and all the different things that just make us more formidable every year and makes our library that much better every year. Thirdly, our marketing effort is reaching a new level this year with our partnership with Sirius. Our goal to be everywhere that the holiday/Christmas enthusiast is throughout the season is really at a new level. So those are three things that are very big advantages for us that are that are hard to compete with.

MCN: How has your holiday lineup performed in terms of advertising and sponsorship?
BA: We’re having a great scatter market. We’re seeing CPM [price] increases that are significant, and we’re seeing revenue increases that are far outpacing the industry quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year. We’re No. 1 in the vast majority of demographics with the exception of probably adults 18-49, where sports are so big. So demographically, how it translates out on a total-day basis — which is how cable really is purchased by the advertiser — makes us really dominant throughout this time of year, and that drops right to the bottom line.

So it’s a very strong business model and one that advertisers love. They love our environment, and we’ve worked hard to make our environment special throughout the holidays. That translates to higher pricing, a better mix of advertisers and a better overall story on the ad sales side.

MCN: How does success during the holiday season translate to boosting revenue and ratings fortunes the rest of the year?
BA: We’ve focused on holidays as a tentpole for our brand, which is all about celebration. So we have the tentpoles of Valentine’s Day, weddings and certainly Christmas and Thanksgiving. But we also have celebrations of the four seasons as well, so we’ve really expanded our content to create that feeling not dissimilar to when you walk into a Hallmark Gold Crown store. You would feel a lot of bright colors and a lot of different reflections of the season at retail that we chose to capture on air as well. That is something that advertisers really take into account, and it’s really helped us in terms of the marketplace. Nobody else can do that, because their brand isn’t synonymous with [the holiday season] the way ours is.

 Hallmark Channel received an early ratings gift in November, setting an all time viewership record on the strength of its holiday-themed films. 

Hallmark averaged a network best 1.21 million total viewers during the period of Oct. 30 to Nov. 26, according to Nielsen. The network’s annual Countdown to Christmas slate of original movies helped pace the network’s strong performance – through Sunday, Hallmark’s Countdown To Christmas programming has reached nearly 50 million unduplicated viewers, network executives said.

RELATED: Hallmark Channel Sets 'Countdown To Christmas' Special "Every year, awareness and demand for our holiday content grows and this year we are once again hitting all-time highs," said Crown Media Family Networks’ President and CEO Bill Abbott. “The ability to deliver critical mass and audience reach, coupled with the amount of original content we air over an extended two month period establishes 'Countdown to Christmas' as the biggest event in entertainment."

The performance of the network’s 12 holiday films thus far is led by the Nov. 26 airing of the Candace Cameron-Bure starrer Switched For Christmas, which drew 5.2 million viewers – the second most-watched telecast in network history, according to a Hallmark spokeperson.

RELATED: Hallmark Drama Channel Launches Into Headwinds for Linear Networks

Hallmark 2017 Original Holiday Movie Ratings (Through Nov. 26) 

DateMovieTotal Viewers

10/28 Marry Me At Christmas                                3.4 million

11/4   Christmas Festival Of Ice                             3.2 million

11/5   Miss Christmas                                            3.6 million

11/11 The Sweetest Christmas                               3.9 million

11/12 Enchanted Christmas                                   3.6 million

11/18 Coming Home For Christmas                         4.1 million

11/19 A Gift To Remember                                     3.9 million

11/22 With Love Christmas                                     3.6 million

11/23 The Mistletoe Inn                                         3.4 million

11/24 Finding Santa                                              4.1 million

11/25 The Christmas Train                                     4.9 million

11/26 Switched for Christmas                                5.2 million

Source: Nielsen, Hallmark Channel

Christmas is less than a week away, but television viewers have been celebrating the holiday season since Halloween, watching holiday-themed programming that has delivered a ratings gift to networks.

Holiday movies and specials from cable networks like Hallmark Channel, UP TV and Freeform have benefited from viewers’ seeming desire to see uplifting, comfort programming after a difficult 2016 marked by an unnerving presidential campaign and troubling economic conditions in the country.

“This year the environment overall admittedly has helped us,” Crown Media Family Networks president and CEO Bill Abbott said. “People are looking for that safe destination that they can feel good when they get to it, and that’s played a big role in our success.”

Hallmark, which launched its lineup of 19 original holiday films before Halloween, has consistently finished among the top three most watched networks in primetime during the month of December. The network’s sixth annual "Countdown to Christmas" programming stunt is up by double digits among all key demos compared with last year’s edition, including a 22% jump among total viewers, according to Hallmark officials.

Sister service Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is also performing well with viewers. The network set a ratings record among adults 25-54 with its Dec. 11 original movie Sound Of Christmas.

UP’s “We Get Christmas” lineup has remained hot after launching over the first weekend of November with 5.5 million viewers, led by the premiere of its original holiday movie Married by Christmas, the network said.

Freeform’s annual “25 Days of Christmas,” which launched during the Thanksgiving weekend, has catapulted the network into the top five most watched cable networks over the past two weeks. The network is averaging 1.4 million viewers in primetime during the month, well above the 893,000 viewers the network averaged in November.

Holiday programming has always appealed to viewers during the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve: 85% of all U.S. TV households, or more than 217 million viewers, watched at least one minute of holiday content last year. But the turmoil and consternation revolving around the election and other events in 2016 has made holiday content even more relevant this season.

“We’ve had such a tumultuous year that folks are looking for upbeat, positive programming, and certainly the main thrust of holiday programming is positive, uplifting and fun,” Bill Carroll, senior vice president and director of content strategy for Katz Television Group, said. “We spent so much time over the last year on both sides dealing with the election that I think viewers are looking for that end-of-the-year push for a more positive mood.”

Hallmark Channel kicked off its two-month Christmas-themed programming lineup Sunday with 2.3 million viewers tuning into its original film `Tis The Season For Love.

The movie, which starred Sarah Lancaster as a city-dweller returning to her small hometown roots for the holidays, was the first of 16 original movies Hallmark will air over the next two months as part of its "Countdown to Christmas" programming stunt. Hallmark's holiday fare, which actually launched on Halloween on both Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, drew 18.1 million unduplicated viewers over the weekend, according to network officials. 

“Over the last 5 years, Hallmark Channel has become the undisputed leader in holiday programming and viewers can’t seem to get enough — so this year, we are raising the bar with our largest and most ambitious slate yet,” said Michelle Vicary, EVP, programming & network publicity, Crown Media Family Networks. “Sunday night’s results are an excellent way to kick off the campaign and we look forward to once again delivering on our promise for the very best in seasonal entertainment.”

More from Michelle Vicary on Hallmark's Christmas programming strategy:

MCN Original Video: One Question for ... Hallmark's Michelle Vicary | Hallmark Networks Can’t Wait for Christmas: A Q&A With Michelle Vicary [subscription required]

Halloween is around the corner, so what better time for Hallmark Channel to launch its “Countdown to Christmas” lineup of holiday-themed movies? The network will launch 55 continuous days of holiday-themed entertainment with the 1990s comedy classic Home Alone on Oct. 31. The next day, it will premiere ’Tis the Season for Love — the first of 16 original holiday-themed movies Hallmark will air through December.

Sister service Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will also use Halloween to launch its 1,497 hours of Christmas-themed movies as part of “The Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas” holiday programming stunt, which includes four original telefilms. Hallmark Channel is coming off a record-setting 2014 “Countdown to Christmas,” which drew 74 million viewers and generated the network’s most-watched movie of all time, Christmas Under Wraps, at 6.3 million viewers (per Nielsen live-plus three day ratings).

Crown Media Family Networks executive vice president of programming and network publicity Michelle Vicary spoke with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about Hallmark’s early holiday programming strategy, as well as the overall appeal of its family-friendly content.

MCN:Hallmark Channel starts its “Countdown to Christmas” event programming on Halloween. Why that early?

Michelle Vicary: If our audience didn’t like it, they would tell us by not tuning in, but that hasn’t been the case. We said, “Go out and trick or treat, then come home and sit down and the season begins.” There’s been real viewer enthusiasm, and we’ve seen it on both networks by starting that early and going all the way to Jan. 1. There’s a substantial appetite for holiday movies and being of the season and of that celebratory mode.

MCN:What’s in the secret sauce of Hallmark’s holidaythemed programming that seems to whet viewers’ appetites for such specialty programming?

MV: It all starts with the brand. It is one that is so strong and beloved, and people are incredibly passionate about it. Our strategy for both networks starts with the brand and delivering on that brand to our loyal Hallmark enthusiasts.

Not only do we have Christmas and that holiday season, but we are also doing other Hallmark-oriented franchises as well that we found are resonating with our audiences. Whether it’s weddings; fall-themed events like back-to-school, harvest and Halloween; or Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, we’ve found that those have been as successful for us as Christmas.

MCN:Are audiences in general gravitating to feel-good, family-friendly content that Hallmark Channel offers as part of its “Countdown to Christmas” event, as well as through its other original series and movies?

MV: Yes. Under our family-friendly moniker I think we do offer something different for our viewers. I think like everything else, having variety and different options are important, whether you’re talking about television content or dinner each night. So I think having other options for content is what’s working for us.

MCN:Given the success of grittier, mainstream programming, how does Hallmark stay competitive without pushing the envelope on content?

MV: We know that there’s so much content out there that’s darker and edgier and that there are huge audiences for that. We still have to be entertaining — we can’t just rest on that one descriptor. We have to be entertaining and we have to offer content that audiences want to see, and we work very hard to make sure that we are as mainstream as all of our competitors but also delivering something different.

Crown Media Holdings, parent of the Hallmark Channel, said advertising revenue rose 14% in the fourth quarter, fueled by strong audience gains, particularly in its newest network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

Those increases also helped drive cash flow growth of 25% in the period.

According to the company, Hallmark Channel's "Countdown to Christmas" programming block was No. 1 on cable, reaching 66 million viewers since its launch on Oct. 31 and was the mos- watched cable network among households and women 25 to 54, resulting in Nov. 29 becoming the best Nielsen day in network history. The 12 New Movies of Christmas averaged a 2.6 household rating on Hallmark Channel, making it firsr in weekend primetime.

In addition, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries -- the service that converted from Hallmark Movie Channel on Oct. 1 -- delivered its highest quarter and year in both total day and primetime among households, women 25 to 54, and adults 25-54 in its network history.

“Crown Media’s tremendous achievements in 2014, including Hallmark Channel’s second scripted series, When Calls the Heart; the successful return ofCedar Cove; the rebrand of Hallmark Movie Channel to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries; and strong content and ratings during the holiday season, contributed to the continued growth of our business and another year of record financial results, said Crown Media CEO Bill Abbott in a statement. "Looking ahead to 2015, we are focused on building on our programming footprint, further positioning us to achieve great success.”

If Hallmark Channel viewers were merry during the recently completed holiday season, Crown Media Holdings executives are hopeful watchers will show lots of love toward their latest programming stunt.

Hot on the heart of its most Nielsen successful "Countdown to Christmas" campaign ever, Hallmark Channel will shoot its arrows at "Countdown to Valentine’s Day," a two-week celebration, featuring nearly 300 hours of romance-themed movies, highlighted by a quintet of new originals.

Countdown to Valentine’s Day begins Saturday, Jan. 31, with original telefilm A Wish Come True at 8 p.m. (ET)/7 p.m. (CT). Other original movies making their world premiere as part of the Valentine's Day play are as follows I Do, I Do, I Do (Feb. 6); So You Said Yes (Feb. 7); Cloudy with a Chance of Love (Feb. 8); and All of My Heart  on Cupid's day itself.

Starring Megan Park, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Dean Cain, Anthony Lemke and Aidan Shipley, A Wish Come True (formerly 30th Birthday) centers on Lindsay Corwin (Park), a long-time believer in birthday wishes, even if they remain unfulfilled. As she approaches her milestone birthday, she laments to her best friend Dave (Hollingsworth) that not one of them has ever come true and her life is nothing like she envisioned. But when Dave throws her a surprise 30th birthday party, Lindsay resolves to blow out her candles and make one final wish: for all of her wishes to come true.

The Hallmark Channel jumped off to a good ratings start in the New Year with its original movie Surprised By Love, which drew 2.4 million viewers.

The film finished as the most watched original cable film of the week and continued the network’s ratings momentum dating back to its Countdown To Christmas original films last year. The network averaged more than 2 million viewers for its 12 original films.

“Following an exceptional Countdown to Christmas season, Hallmark Channel’s original programming continues to drive ratings and viewership, underscoring just how much the network has come to mean in the lives of our viewers,” said Michelle Vicary, executive vice president, programming & network publicity, Crown Media Family Networks in a statement. “These results, right out of the gate in 2015, are a great way to kick off the New Year and we look forward to building on this momentum over the next 12 months and beyond.”

The holiday programming magic continued for Hallmark Channel this past weekend, as the family-friendly network againg notched big numbers with its telefilms.

A Royal Christmas bowed to 4.0 rating and 4.48 million viewers on Nov. 22, according to Nielsen data. The original movie, starring Lacey Chabert and Stephen Hagan in the lead roles, now stands as the top "Countdown to Christmas" entry and the second-highest-rated telefilm in the network's history with those measures -- 2006's The Christmas Card notched a 4.2 rating.  All told, A Royal Christmas reached 6.3 million unduplicated viewers, the most in the network's history for an original movie.

In its 8 p.m.-10pm time period, A Royal Christmas was the No.1- rated film among almost all key demos, including  women 18 to 49 (1.6), females 25 to 54 (2.2) and total viewers (2.1). Moreover, the movie ranked first in delivery among households (3,38 million), women 18 to 49 (712,000), females 25 to 54 (945,000).

The Christmas Shepherd premiere on Sunday, Nov. 23 averaged 4.2 million total viewers and reached 5.8 unduplicated viewers. In its 8-10pm time period, the film tallied the second spot among households and total viewer ratings and delivery. The debut helped boost the network to be the top- rated network for the entire day among households at a 1.9 and women 25 to 54  with a 0.9 mark.

Speaking of the latter, channel officials say that Hallmark has now strung together four consecutive weekends as the top network with those watchers, and extended its run as the top service with the group to three weeks.

“The enthusiasm for Countdown to Christmas, which was solidified by this weekend’s strong performance, further proves the value in Hallmark Channel’s unique form of holiday storytelling and original content,” said Bill Abbott, president and CEO, Crown Media Family Networks. “We look forward to continuing to deliver more of what our viewers love and enjoy, as well as building on this successful franchise for years to come.” 

Hallmark Channel has scooped a deal with ice cream retailer Baskin-Robbins to support its original Christmas telefilm, NorthPole.

Beginning Nov. 1, participating Baskin-Robbins shops nationwide -- nearly 2,500 across 43 states -- will open their doors to NorthPole-inspired ice cream treats, including Winter White Chocolate ice cream, which features white chocolate-flavored ice cream, swirled with cherry pieces in chocolate-flavored coating and a cherry ribbon.

Baskin-Robbins shops will also feature a special Winter White Chocolate Brownie Sundae and Winter White Chocolate Milkshake during the month of November, as well as promotional signage driving tune in to the movie’s premiere on Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

Produced in collaboration with parent company, Hallmark Cards, NorthPole stars Tiffani Thiessen (Beverly Hills, 90210), Josh Hopkins (Cougar Town), Bailee Madison (Trophy Wife) and Max Charles (Mr. Peabody & Sherman) and will be a tent pole in Hallmark Channel’s annual "Countdown to Christmas" programming stunt.

“Baskin-Robbins is a classic family brand, making them an ideal partner in celebrating Hallmark Channel’s new original film, Northpole,” said Susanne McAvoy, executive vice president, marketing, creative & communications, Crown Media Family Networks. “Having a specialty ice cream flavor inspired by the movie will draw our passionate Countdown to Christmas fans into their stores and engage them in a unique way, while further driving awareness of our holiday programming among Baskin-Robbins’ many loyal customers.”

“With the holiday season right around the corner, we’re excited to partner with Hallmark Channel to offer our guests NorthPole inspired ice cream treats all month long at Baskin-Robbins,” said John Costello, president, global marketing and innovation for Dunkin’ Brands. “Winter White Chocolate ice cream features the delicious flavors of the winter season, including white chocolate and cherry, so it is the perfect flavor to celebrate Hallmark Channel’s new original movie. We hope our guests enjoy this flavor, as well as our special Winter White Chocolate Brownie Sundae and Winter White Chocolate Milkshake.”