BET Plus leads the list of networks and streaming services delivering holiday TV movie cheer to viewers during the 12 days before Christmas as programmers tie a bow around a robust lineup of original holiday programming that launched in October. 

BET Plus over the next two weeks will distribute the final three movies of its slate of 12 original holiday films and specials that featured several high-profile celebrities and producers, including Jasmine Guy, Tamar Braxton, Vivica A. Fox, Debbie Allen, Tichina Arnold, Jackee Harry, and Michael Colyar, according to BET Plus officials. 

BET Plus VP of content programming, strategy and original movies Marvin Neil said holiday programming has become a yearly staple for the four-year-old African American-targeted streaming service as it looks to offer more family fare.

“The holiday season is about families and togetherness, and I feel like that’s an opportunity that’s been taken up by major networks for decades,” Neil said. “The problem is major networks weren’t really showcasing the black holiday experience the way we felt we deserved, so we were very intentional about really targeting the holiday season as a moment to tell relatable stories for our viewers and for a broader audience.” 

Neil said the appeal of original holiday content attracted actors, directors and writers of color to the streaming service. On the docket for BET Plus holiday films premiering through Christmas are films starring actress/producer Robin Givens (Christmas Rescue); musicians MC Lyte and Tank (Favorite Son Christmas); and actress/singer Kandi Burruss (Whatever It Takes).

Holiday Movie Sampler

A partial list of remaining holiday-themed movies debuting on linear networks and streaming services, along with their premiere dates:

December 14

• Heaven Down Here (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
• Christmas Rescue (BET Plus)
• Favorite Son Christmas (BET Plus)

December 15

• The Secret Gift of Christmas (Hallmark Channel)

December 16

• Designing Christmas With You (Great American Family)
• Sealed With a List (Hallmark Channel)
• The Holiday Proposal Plan (Lifetime)
• The Christmas Detective (OWN)
• A Christmas Intern (Lifetime)

December 17

• Dial S for Santa (UPtv)
• Merry Magic Christmas (Lifetime)
• 12 Games of Christmas (Great American Family)
• Friends and Family Christmas (Hallmark Channel)

December 21

• Miracle in Bethlehem, PA (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
• Whatever It Takes (BET Plus)
• The Christmas Break (Fox)

December 23

• A Royal Christmas Holiday (Great American Family)
• Mom’s Christmas Boyfriend (Lifetime)
• Christmas Revisited (OWN)

December 24

• A Christmas Letter (UPtv)

Fox News Channel looks to end the year on a high note after posting its second straight weekly sweep of the primetime and total-day ratings charts.

The news network averaged 1.8 million viewers during the week of December 4-10, besting ESPN’s 1.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. The news network was paced by its December 5 Hannity Town Hall special featuring former President Donald Trump, which drew more than 3 million viewers, according to Nielsen. 

MSNBC finished third with 1.2 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel’s 1.1 million viewers and TNT’s 816,000 watchers.

History was sixth with 701,000 viewers, followed by Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (687,000 viewers), HGTV (665,000), USA Network (627,000) and INSP (579,000).

Fox News averaged 1.1 million viewers on a 24-hour basis, beating out MSNBC (779,000 viewers), ESPN (666,000), Hallmark Channel (664,000) and CNN (427,000), according to Nielsen. 

Fox News’ Ron DeSantis-Gavin Newsom political debate helped the news network retake the top spot on both the primetime and total day charts.

Fox News averaged 1.9 million viewers during the week of November 27 to December 3, surpassing last week’s chart leader ESPN’s 1.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by Fox News. The news network's November 30 DeSantis vs. Newsom: The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate special averaged 5.4 million viewers across its live airing and repeat telecast to pace its ratings performance.

Hallmark Channel finished in third place with 1.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 1.1 million viewers and History’s 714,000 watchers. HGTV was sixth with 765,000 viewers followed by USA Network (671,000 viewers), Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (644,000), TNT (595,000) and Discovery Channel (569,000.)

On a total day basis, Fox News topped all networks for the 10th time in the last 11 weeks with 1.1 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (772,000), ESPN (709,000), Hallmark Channel (702,000) and CNN (448,000), according to Nielsen.  

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 will create a slate of films targeted to African-American audiences under its Hallmark greeting card brand, the company said Wednesday.

Toni Judkins, senior VP of programming development for Crown Media, will spearhead the initiative, which will launch in 2022 as a quarterly slate of original movies airing on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries under the Mahogany brand, which is rooted in the three decade-old, Hallmark greeting card line of the same name, said company officials. Crown plans to eventually expand the initiative into scripted series and podcasts. 

Also Read: Telling Stories Sans Stereotype 

“This launch marks a pivotal moment in our evolution as we continue to bring the Hallmark brand to life in new ways,” Crown Media President & CEO Wonya Lucas said in a statement. “In addition, it’s a huge step forward in our mission to deliver more diverse, inclusive content representing various cultures and perspectives that resonates with our current audience and attracts new viewers.” 

Added Judkins: “Mahogany is an expression of all the love, joy, and complexities that emerge from the distinctive journey of Black people. It is a dream realized to create a content experience around this Hallmark brand that honors, empowers, and authentically captures Black culture and amplifies our voice.”

Also Read: Crown Media Debuts Countdown to Christmas Widget 

Production will commence this month on the Sugar Cookie Murder, an entry from the Hannah Swensen Mystery series and the initial telefilm that will appear as part of the who-dun-it "wheels" that will key the upcoming conversion of the Hallmark Movie Channel into Hallmark Movies & Mysteries this fall.

The Sugar Cookie Murder telefilm, based on one of Joanne Fluke’s best-selling books from the Hannah Swensen Mystery franchise, is slated to bow during the holiday season, under the revamped network's "Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas" banner, featuring traditional and classic holiday fare. The news was among a host announcements made by Hallmark Movie Channel, and its progenitor, Hallmark Channel, as the Television Critics Association summer press tour at the Beverly Hilton.

Casting is expected to be announced over the next few weeks.

Hallmark Movie Channel officially will transtion into Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on Oct. 1. As part of that transformation, the service will feature mystery “wheels," rotations of distinct movie franchises, each consisting of several telefilms that follow the same primary characters over a few months.

In addition to Hannah Swensen Mysteries, the network will feature projects under Garage Sale Mystery heading, based on the 2013 original Hallmark Channel telefilm, starring Lori Loughlin (When Calls the Heart); The Gourmet Detective, based on Peter King’s books and starring Dylan Neal (Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove); and Aurora Tea Garden with Candace Cameron Bure.

According to a network spokeswoman, production is expected to begin on Garage Sale Mystery in August, and Aurora in September. Work on The Gourment Detective will follows after Neal takes a break after completing the second season of Cedar Cove, Hallmark Channel's top original series drama.

In Sugar Cookie Murder, the holidays are the icing on the cake for Hannah who is surrounded by her loved ones and has all the ingredients for a perfect Christmas until murder is added to the mix. The annual Christmas buffet is the final test of the recipes Hannah has collected for the Lake Eden Holiday Buffet cookbook. While baking the day’s goodies at The Cookie Jar, the evening’s plans begin to jell. There is mystery aplenty among the guests with everyone appearing just a bit on the odd side. But when Hannah’s mother’s antique Christmas cake knife disappears just as a guest at the dinner is discovered murdered everyone becomes a suspect.

Sugar Cookie Murder  is a Brad Krevoy Television and Stephanie Germain Productions Production.